The Hero of Minecraftia
by PUR3 K1LL3R
Summary: This is the story of how a man named Chris became the Hero of Minecraftia. Battles ensue. And he meets a very special person along the way. Short summary. M for blood, language and other things. (I DON'T OWN MINECRAFT) (Add me on yahoo messenger if you have any questions about the story: can.noland. Email: can(.)noland@yahoo(.)com
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, this is my first story. Hope you enjoy.**

**Intro**

A day in the live of Chris, a common man who enjoys mining for ore, and collecting rare items. Some could describe him as a loner, while others could label him the funniest man they ever met. His is a story of his life, his adventures, and to spread the tale of how this man became known as The Hero of Minecraftia.

**Chapter 1: The Long Road Ahead**

Chris lived alone, as he preferred, spending his time collecting food and water. His wooden cottage was surrounded by a thick forest, leaving contact with the outside world minimal. It had been a long, exhausting day, and Chris entered his home with sacks full of wood, buckets full of water. He had many chests that he kept his precious materials in, and now they were filled up a little more.

"Good days work, if I do say so myself." Chris' proud and accomplished voice echoed through his quiet home.

As the sun lowered against the horizon, Chris walked some stairs up to his bedroom. The only thing he could think of was sleep. He laid down on his bed, pulling his wool blankets over his body and up to his jaw. He closed his blue eyes and prepared to sleep and dream, but he couldn't. Chris tossed and turned, but couldn't seem to find a comfortable position. It was no use. He decided he would go and find something else to do that might make him tired.

Chris left his bedroom and walked downstairs into the living room. Turning on the lights, he saw the bookshelves he had and decided to read. He had books that ranged from mythology to science. He had found them from libraries at villages he once visited, and some he even wrote himself. Chris kept a very detailed log about the monsters he would be forced to kill every night. The zombies, skeletons, creepers, all of these monsters would try to kill him, and he had yet to find out the reason behind their aggressiveness.

"They just want to eat me for fun, I'm sure of it."

Chris sat down in a chair, reading book after book in his work clothes until dawn came upon him. He wasn't tired, even after spending the whole night awake. It was off to work again. Chris put his books away and walked toward a corner of his house that kept an enchantment table and chests of tools. There was a sign above the chest entitled: My Items. As usual, he picked up tools to work for the day, such as an axe and shovel. But as he looked out a window in front of him, into his beautiful backyard, he spied that the wheat seeds he planted had grown into full bunches. It was time to harvest.

Chris took his trusty woven sack, a bag he carried everywhere he went, and he put his tools inside. He also grabbed a stone hoe, seeds, a couple of cooked pork chops and an iron sword for protection, just incase the monsters would try and reck his entire day. With his sack full of equipment, he proceeded to walk to the back door and walked into the backyard, into his farm.

The morning sun was bright, warm, and calming to Chris as he walked toward his wheat farm. He noticed the chickens he kept in his farm, plucking at the ground behind their fenced pen. The sounds of the farm relaxed Chris, knowing that all his animals were happy and heathly. He passed the sheep grazing on grass, the cows and the pigs across from them.

"Hey, guys, how's it goin'?" he asked his furry friends, petting the top of a sheep's head. But he couldn't stay and talk to his companions long. He had wheat to harvest.

Chris spent the entire day gathering his wheat without realizing it had gotten dark. Being outside in the dark was dangerous, as that was the time when monsters would be active, wondering around in the darkness, keeping themselves away from the light of sun or torches. Keeping so much light around his farm made Chris happy. No monsters would dare come toward his home, unless they had a death wish.

Tending to an entire farm leads to a life without rest, as Chris would understand easily. He walked back to his home, carrying bags of wheat over his shoulders. The wheat could be made into loaves of bread, which he would later eat. Walking into his kitchen, Chris put his wheat onto his crafting bench and started the hard work of crafting his wheat into delicious bread, listening to old music records playing in the background.

Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from upstairs, like a bookshelf had fallen over. It was unnatural, so Chris went upstairs to investigate, leaving his bread on the table. Indeed, Chris found a bookshelf and dresser toppled over in his bedroom. They were knocked down as the house shook back and forth. A horde of zombies bashed on his locked front door. They had come for revenge, obviously, and they caught Chris off-guard. They were going to get into his house.

Chris was shocked, as he didn't think zombies would come onto his land. There were so many torch lights. "How could this happen?!" he yelled loudly, in shock. But he didn't panic. He knew what needed to be done.

He ran back down to the living room, getting into one of his chests that held weapons and armor. He grabbed an iron chest plate and a leather cap. He took his iron sword and his bow, putting all the arrows he had left into a quiver on his back. Chris knew the doors wouldn't last long. He had to get a better view of the angry mob. There was no time to grab anything else.

After he put on his armor, Chris ran back upstairs to his bedroom. At a corner of the room, there was a ladder that let up to a watchtower. It was his Crow's Nest to his pirate home, a safe place to watch his farm and home from a distance. Climbing the thin ladder to the top of his stone tower wasn't an easy task while he carried all of his armor and weapons. He looked to his barn first, seeing that the zombies weren't going after his animals. It was just him they wanted revenge on.

Chris turned around and looked at the front of his house and assumed that the number of zombies were few, maybe ten or fifteen at most. But when he reached the top of his tower, he was mortified with what he saw. Hundreds of zombies, hundreds of skeletons, a true monster horde was pouring out of a cave near his house. They surrounded his home. They would pound down his door any minute. Normally, he would have fun killing monsters who wanted to pick a fight, but this was ridiculous.

"Oh, shit, that's a lot of 'em." Chris said to himself. "There must be a spawner down there or something."

While in his stone tower, Chris was spotted by the skeletons as he had looked over them. With their bows and arrows, the skeletons opened fire upon him. Chris ducked from the bunches of arrows barreling at him and slid back down his ladder. He wasn't safe up there like he thought. He had to get out of his house before he would be overrun. He couldn't fend them off like he thought. There was just too many of them.

Downstairs, Chris ran to his chests and grabbed all of his most valuable items and put them in the bag he carried. He planned ahead, taking food and other items with him until his sack was nearly filled to capacity with his precious materials. After tying off the bag, he threw it over his shoulder and ran back up to his tower. His front door finally broke down, and Chris barely made it up the stairs before the invading zombies grabbed him.

"Oh, crap!" he cried.

As Chris ran up the stairs, he tripped and the zombies caught up to him. They held out their arms, moaning sounds of death, probably planning to eat him for all of their brothers and sisters he had killed in the past. He drew out his iron sword and started slashing at the horde of zombies and skeletons in his home, thinking he could funnel them all in and push them back. But there were too many of them, so he had no choice but to run back up to his tower.

Chris climbed as fast as he could up his ladder, dodging the arrows of skeletons shooting at him from outside. Their arrows were powerful and deadly. Chris proved this by seeing they had broke through the glass windows of his house already. Zombies tried to pull at the ladder to climb up and follow Chris, but they were the undead. Their muscle was dead, so it was difficult to follow at a face pace. Chris was at the top of the ladder when he saw this, and it gave him an idea.

He looked down at the zombies climbing up the ladder, piling each other on top of each other to gain height. They would reach him soon, and there was only one way out from the top of his stone fortress. Chris tore through his bag looking for the items he needed. Quickly, he pulled out a stick of dynamnite and a lighter known as flint and steel. This was the only plan he had left, and he wasn't hesistating to do it.

"I survived too long to let you bastards kill me now!" Chris yelled at the horde of zombies trying to climb the ladder.

The flint and steel was dusty. It hadn't been used for a little while, and wasn't working properly. As Chris clicked it over and over again over the string, he was almost struck by another arrow that flew toward his head. It flew just a few inches past him, which made him worry more.

"Come on, light..." Chris commanded, feeling the nerves of battle slowly start to rush over him. "LIGHT!" Suddenly, the flint and steel lighter sparked, and the dynamite's fuse was lit. "Hell yeah! Hey, I have a present for you!" Chris called down, throwing the dynamite stick down through the ladder escape.

There would only be five to seven seconds before the dynamite would blow up. Chris moved fast, taking his bag and tools and running to the edge of the tower. The glass had been broken, and so he could easily climb out. Zombies had climbed up the outside of the tower, trying to keep Chris inside. But Chris was determined and used all the strength he had in his legs to jump off his tower.

The seconds Chris was airbourne for what felt like minutes, as a large explosion loudly roared behind him, bringing fire and destruction with it. The power from the dynamite going off launched Chris twenty-five feet forward, letting him fly like a bird over the entire monster horde below him. He landed on his sack on the grond, a cushion for some of the impact, but Chris was still shell shocked. He shook his head back and forth as he stood up.

"God damn, that hurt." he said to himself, as he got a look at the remains of his house.

The wooden cottage was a total mess. The watchtower was destroyed. The explosion must have destroyed some or all of the foundation of his home as well. The house lost its support and the roof had collapsed, leaving it a complete wreakage. The zombies and skeletons inside were either killed or trapped under the rubble of his old house and wouldn't be able to get out. The rubble covered the cave entrace to the monster spawner, completely eliminating the entire horde.

"I... I'm safe..." Chris said to himself, in shock of what he had just done. He moaned and struggled to stand up, as he was sore from the landing he had. Feeling relieved, Chris looked up at the clear, night sky, breathing in the fresh air and the smell of burning wood. "I am safe."

Or was he?

Upon hearing a suspicious sound, Chris looked behind him and saw more monsters. The monster spawner was dealt with, but it was still the middle of the night and other monsters were drawn into the area from the loud explosion. Skeletons from nearby started firing their arrows at Chris. There weren't many of them, so Chris thought he could take them on, until he realized there was another spawner close by. He might have fun killing the archers, but he would be overrun soon. It would be suicide.

"Damn it..." Chris said, in an angered voice. "This was the perfect place to build my home, wasn't it?" Sarcasm to himself was Chris's way of helping him precieve dangerous moments like this.

Chris started running toward the trees. This may have been the best location to build a home, but it was surrounded by trees, which made for an easy escape now. Chris dared to look backwards as the limping zombies that were moving towards him as he ran. The skeleton's were relentless with their arrows, creating deadly rain.

Chris was almost into the forest, just about to lose all the monsters within the trees. But, suddenly, an arrow from a skeleton hit Chris in his upper left leg above his knee, causing him to trip. Dirt was smeered across his arms and face. "ARRGGHH!" he screamed in pain.

The arrow had inserted itself in his leg three inches deep, touching bone and sending pain whenever the arrow was moved. Putting pressure on the wound sent even worse pain. Chris looked out above him and saw that the horde of monsters were closing in on him. Sucking in the pain, he got up and limped toward the tree line, feeling the stinging pain in every step he took, blood draining down his leg.

As Chris entered the forest, he could hear zombies behind him. It drove him to move faster and faster until he was nearly running. He couldn't stop, and the pain from the arrow wasn't stopping him. Chris didn't look behind him. He didn't want to see the drail of blood he left, or the monsters he left eating his dust.

Chris ran for ten minutes before he couldn't hear the sounds of the undead. "I... I must have... lost 'em." he coughed heavily, trying to catch his breath.

The surroundings were unfamiliar. Chris didn't know where he was, but at least he was safe. He was exhausted from running and sat down on some loose rock. He looked down to his bleeding leg. The arrow was covered in blood, and he could already see his leg swelling. Chris tried to pull it out, but every time he touched the arrow, it would burn like hell.

"I have to get this out!" Chris told himself. "I'm losing too much blood here. Be a man! Suck it up!" Finally, he drew the courage from inside himself to grab the end of the arrow and pull it out of his leg with a painful burn. He tore it through the flesh of his leg. "ARRGGHHH!" he yelled out in pain.

After Chris calmed himself down from the pain, he brought the arrow to his face and stared at it with anger. It was this wooden arrow that caused him so much pain and what made him lose so much blood. In a fit of rage, Chris snapped the arrow in half and tossed it in a bush five feet away, not thinking that he had a bow himself and could've used the arrow for extra ammo.

"Damn skeletons." Chris cursed at his enemy.

He looked back at his leg and saw he was still losing a lot of blood. He had been bleeding for more than 15 minutes. He had to stop the bleeding, but putting pressure on the wound did little to help. He started to feel dizzy, weak, and he had trouble breathing. Chris feared he was going to die if he didn't get medical attention.

"There's a village to the north." Even though he was dizzy, he could still think clearly. "I'm doing to die if I don't get some help." Chris forced himself to stand up and walk ahead. It was the only thing he could do now. He wasn't going to die alone in the forest.

The forest seemed to be endless. Chris had never explored the dense forest like this; he had never gone this far before. Either he didn't have any time, or he didn't want to go exploring this far, but now he wished he did. After ten excruciating minutes of limping, Chris found a large, smooth, flat rock. He decided to sit and rest for a little while.

As he leaned back against the rocks he found, he looked up at the trees that covered the sky. "I'm sooooo lost in here." Chris sighed, realizing that he might never find his way out of the forest.

Just as he was closing his eyes, starting to lose hope, Chris remembered something. When he was grabbing all of his valuable items from his chest, he also brought his compass with him. Chris quickly started to dig through his full sack of items. His hands shook from the amount of blood he lost. At the bottom of the bag, he found his compass and felt reassured he would get out of the forest.

"Hell yeah, my compass!" he yelled, in happiness. "Now where's north?"

Chris set the compass beside him, letting it show him the direction he had to go. Confident, he picked up his bag and compass and headed north. He was dizzy and weak, but he continued to press on. He limped toward north, walking over all the uneven land, through the bushes and rocks that blocked his way. With his condition, it wasn't easy for him to move.

After thirteen minutes of walking, the bleeding was starting to take a major toll on Chris. The weakness he felt before was now to the point of fainting, but he still didn't stop. His determination triumphed over his physical injuries. He had to keep moving, otherwise it might not turn out so well. Chris would rather push himself to his limit then rest again with a chance of being attacked by another monster.

The forest was starting to clear up now. Chris could see the light of the moon on the ground now, as well as the stars; it lit up the darkness of the forest. The ambient sounds of the forest kept Chris company. The bug chirping was much more welcome than the sounds of monsters moaning in the dark. There were many zombies all around the forest, but they didn't seem to notice Chris.

It was understandable for paranoia to set in. Chris flinched at every suspicious sound, trying to be as quiet as he could himself. But Chris was specifically weary of a loud sound of a twig snapping behind him. He quickly looked behind him and saw nothing. "Hmm... Maybe I'm just being paranoid." he whispered to himself.

Chris stared into the darkness behind him for a few moments before turning ahead and starting to move on. But just as he took another step, he bumped into something. Chris looked up to see an Enderman standing right in front of him. This was the first time he saw this kind of creature: a tall, thin, black monster with glowing green eyes. He was silent, but just as deadly as all other monsters.

"Oh, SHI-"

Chris didn't have more than a second to take in his new enemy before he was cut short by a swift punch to the face by the Enderman. Chris was sent flying back into a tree. The iron chest plate he wore didn't do much, as he heard the sound of his bones cracking. Chris threw up some blood, realizing just how much for these Endermen had.

"You... Bastard!" Chris called, wiping off the blood on his mouth.

Before he could get up, the Enderman teleported toward Chris and punched him in his right side. Chris fell to the ground on his belly, pushing himself painfully to roll onto his back to see his opponent above him. He saw the Enderman lifting his foot, planning to stop Chris's face into the ground as hard as he could.

On a reaction to keep himself alive, Chris rolled out of the way of the stomping storm and pushed himself to his feet. Pulling out his partially trusty iron sword that he carried with him, running up to try and stab the Enderman in front of him, but it teleported away from him before the sword touched him.

Chris quickly took in his surrounding, knowing that the Enderman could pop up anywhere with his teleporting abilities. He looked behind him frequently, just incase it tried to come from behind him again. But all Chris saw was a dense, black forest. His enemy was black, able to hide in any shadow, making the darkness of the forest perhaps even more deadly than the Enderman himself.

"Show yourself, you COWARD!" Chris yelled loudly.

Again, there was nothing in the forest. Chris looked in every direction, but there was nothing. He wondered if he scared the Enderman off, slightly letting his guard down just as this menacing sound was heard from behind. Chris turned around and saw the Enderman about to throw a dirty punch, like he had done before. But Chris wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.

As the Enderman's fist was flying towards him, Chris sidestepped, dodging the fist by inches. Instead, Chris grabbed the Enderman's cold wrist as it was extended, holding him steady so the iron sword could travel into the Enderman's side. A loud, terrifying screech was heard from the tall, green-eyed monster as Chris's sword traveled through him completely. But it wasn't dead. The Enderman was very tough, and still tried to finish off his prey.

The Enderman was furious, grabbing Chris by the neck and lifting him two feet above the ground, attempting to choke him to death. "Let... Me... Go... You freak!" Chris yelled, as that was all his could muster from the great amount of pressure around his neck.

Just as Chris was about to black out from asphyxiation, he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. He lifted his heavy, iron sword up in the air, stabbing the Enderman in the throat, causing dark blood to splatter everywhere across them both. The Enderman dropped Chris as it tried to grab the sword out if its throat.

Chris fell on his knees, gasping for air. He could see the black entity with the moon's light shining on him. He was just three feet away from the Enderman, who was trying to pull the sword out, to no avail. After a few moments of heavy blood loss, the Enderman finally collapsed and fell onto its back. A pool of black blood formed around the monster as it laid flat, motionless, dead.

After a few moments of realization, Chris rose to his feet and walked toward the Enderman's remains, kneeling down towards it. "Told you to let me go." he said.

Thankful of his kill, Chris stood up and put a foot down on the Enderman's chest. He pulled on his iron sword that was embedded in the monster's neck. Blood spewed from the neck of the beast as Chris put his sword back into the sheath that hung over his left hip. Adrenline coursed through his veins, leaving him feeling no pain to the injuries he had.

"Too bad for you." Chris continued. "Rest in pieces... Asshole."

Just as he was going to turn away from the pool of blood, Chris noticed something odd by the body of the Enderman. A small, glowing orb laid next to the dark creature's lifeless body. Chris wondered what this object was, so he moved his blood covered hand towards it to pick it up and take a closer look at it.

"Oh, I've read about these. This mysterious orb must be an Ender Pearl. It could come in handy sometime in the future." the man said.

Chris placed the Ender Pearl in his bag and continued to walk into his village destination. He carried his heavy sack over his shoulder as he followed the compass north. The sun started rising, shedding light over the dark forest, giving Chris a sigh of relief. With sunlight, no monster would dare show up outside of the forest. He would be safe.

Walking past trees and other plant life, even some animals throughout the night, there was something Chris couldn't put his finger on. Why did the Enderman attack him? He didn't look at it, or provoke it. This puzzled Chris to the point of over-thinking about it, which he didn't like. He just shrugged it off, feeling proud that he killed one of these mysterious beasts, and he continued down the dirt path of the village.

As he continued north, Chris would occasionaly see a burning zombie or two nearby, but he didn't worry about them. He had crafted a walking stick out of fallen branches nearby, which was a tool he greatly relied on with his injured leg. His bleeding had stopped, but he still felt dizzy and exhausted. He had been up for more than forty-eight hours. That had been a long day.

Finally, Chris saw the glowstone light posts of the village he heard about. He heard sounds of children laughing and playing up ahead. He was so relieved that he started to jog toward the village. He even started running. He was right there. The village was just seven more minutes to the front gates. Through the last of the thin and few trees, Chris left the edge of the forest and was within one hundred feet of the village.

But Chris had lost too much blood. His vision was getting more blurry. His legs were unable to carry the weight of his body, and he collapsed out of exhaustion. Chris fell on his face, slowly losing consciousness. But he was close enough for the village folk to notice him, and they started running towards him to help. The last thing Chris saw was the faces of the men and women of the village running towards him with worried faces before everything faded as the darkness took over him.

**Thanks for reading my first chapter in this story, constructive criticism is appreciated. Review for cookies. :3**

**Peace Out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok guys, I kinda had to rush this one. Hope you enjoy.**

**Intro:**

Set after the events of Chapter 1, Chris discovers that this village has more to it than meets the eye. He meets and saves a girl who is... different from everyone else.

**Chapter 2: Trouble in Trenton**

Chris woke up from a bed with a jolt, sweating profusely. Quickly scanning the white walls of his room, he saw bunches of medical tools on a silver table a few feet from him. From what Chris could remember, when he blacked out near the village, the people carried him to the nearest hospital. He never really liked hospitals because of what really went on inside the O.R. The thought of it gave Chris goose bumps. He also found out his armor and bag of various items was missing.

Chris looked down at his left leg where the wound was. It was bandaged up. Chris put pressure on his leg and felt no pain sensation. He felt relieved from the thought of his leg not stinging anymore. Chris turned his head to the right toward the windows seeing sunlight peer through the thin glass panes. While looking out the window from his bed, he saw birds flying past the windows, occasionally seeing a hawk or two. He panned his eyes downward seeing some of the houses at the village; this reminded Chris of something, his old cottage.

"Maybe, I should leave soon, even though I just got here. I could salvage some material that was left from my destroyed home and rebuild, this time with a stone wall around the perimeter to keep those monsters out." He thought to himself.

Chris moved his legs to the left to exit the bed, as he awkwardly moved to try get out of bed he heard the door in the corner open slowly, and Chris quickly moved back to his original position in the bed. As the white door opened to reveal who was opening it. Chris saw that it was a woman, she looked to be in her early to mid-thirties, with blond hair going a little past her shoulders, blue eyes that glowed in the sunlight, and some sort of mole below her right eye.

"You're awake I see." She said in a motherly tone of voice. "Hello, my name is Cheryl."

"Um… Hi, my name is Chris, where I'm I?" Chris asked the nurse.

"Yes, you are in the Red Star Hospital located in this little town known as Trenton. Yeah… We found your unconscious body near the south tree line; you sustained an extensive wound to your left leg and some minor bruises and cuts."

"How long have I been here?" Chris said with worry in his voice.

"No longer than a day and a half I think, why?" Cheryl asked.

"Oh... nothing." He said with a sigh of relief. "How long will I have to stay here?"

"You can leave now… But that's what is puzzling me." she spoke with a confused voice.

"What's the problem?" Chris said.

"No, there's no problem, but… Your injuries healed much more quickly than the average person, that's a plus on your part. I had also told the other doctors that after I bandaged your wound I noticed something odd." Cheryl said.

"What?" Chris asked.

"That you're cell reproduction rate is off the charts, the normal rate of thirty-thousand new cells every hour for the average human is the norm, but yours is one-hundred million times that. The rest of the doctors on staff were baffled at your amazing healing abilities, it is very interesting. We have two hypotheses; One, it could be that some chemical or entity has entered your body, somehow increasing the cell division rate. Two, the ability to heal at such an alarming speed may have been something you were born with, which means it might be hereditary."

At the word "hereditary," Chris was thinking about his parents. He couldn't remember a whole lot about them; They left him at a local orphanage when he was almost one year old, the thought of it made Chris cringe. At the age of 13, no one would adopt him, so he ran away from the orphanage, fending for himself ever since.

"So, does that mean I can leave? I don't like hospitals that much." Chris said

Cheryl laughed. "Yeah, I could tell."

At that moment Chris got out of his bed, stood up and took a breath of fresh air.

"Um... Miss Cheryl?"Chris said.

"Yes, Chris?"she replied.

"I'm not trying to be a bother or anything but, I was wearing armor, and I also had a bag full of my belongings. Would you know where they could be?" Chris said as he slowly stepped toward the door

"Let me think . . . Hmm . . . Oh, I remember now. There is a front desk some out and to the left when you leave this room, go there and get yourself checked out and your things and armor will be given to you."Cheryl said.

"Ok, thank you." Chris said when he exited the room called: Room 376

"No problem, Chris."

Walking through the hall of the building was a little disturbing; you could hear the moans and screams of the people, and the whirring of the surgical saws of the ER. But something was off, the hospital rooms were full of patients and most of them were in for large cuts and arrow holes. Thinking nothing more of it, he continued walking past many more patient rooms and to the front desk.

_"_Hello my name is Daniel, how may I help you?" Was all the young man at the desk said while messing with other paper work, until he looked up at Chris.

"Oh, you're that guy they brought in yesterday . . . You actually feel well enough to check out? I saw you being carried in here, from what I could see you had some really bad injuries, you looked like you were dead."

"That doesn't matter now, I feel fine . . . Oh, do you happen to have my belongings?"Chris asked.

At the request he looked down and tried to see if he had Chris' things.

"What I'm I looking for?"Dan said.

"A leather cap, a chest plate made from the purest of iron and a bag full of items, such as my blood covered sword, a compass and some other stuff."

When Daniel heard Chris say "Blood covered sword," that sent shivers down his spine.

"B-blood covered sword!?" Chris looked at Daniel, seeing some fear in his eyes.

"Yes, I don't mean any harm to you or the villagers; I was just caught in the forest after dark. If you remember."Chris said.

"O-ok." He said shaking in his shoes at the thought of the monsters of the night.

After two minutes Daniel finally gave Chris all of his stuff back, putting the bag over his right arm and carrying the armor he had in his left because there was no point to put it on.

Chris finally left the hospital at 3:35 pm, relieved to be out of there.

-TIME SKIP-

Chris had traveled through the thick green forest back to what used to be his home to scavenge for building materials for a new home, the sunlight keeping any monster left hiding under trees for shade from the light. As he moved closer to the rubble he was amazed to see that there was a lot more wood and stone to salvage then he thought.

He put his bag and armor on the ground and inspected the wreckage. He began moving pieces of wood, stone and other materials and put them in respective piles. Lifting up some more wood, Chris saw some charred zombie corpses, and skeleton bones that were crushed to dust.

"This is going to be my entire summer." He said being unhappy

The salvaging went on for hours, until 6:30 in the evening, piles upon piles of wood and stone. Chris was exhausted from sorting piles of rubble, so he decided to just lie in the grass, looking at the sky. After sometime lying in the grass beside what used to be his house, he heard a series of explosions from behind him.

**BOOM BANG KABOOOM! **

He reacted quickly, having acute reflexes, and got up and into a fighting stance. He looked all around him, but there was nothing. All he could see was a smoke cloud coming from what he could see as Trenton.

"Huh… what the hell?!" exclaimed Chris.

Chris was horrified as more explosions originating from the north. Chris quickly stumbled to his feet; grabbed his sword, bow, and a quiver with some arrows still in it, and an ender pearl he acquired from an Enderman he had killed a few days ago. He took a deep breath and started sprinting to the village: Trenton.

-TIME SKIP-

17 minutes later. Chris arrived near to the tree line of Trenton. He saw the village's lights and could hear the blood curdling screams of the village people. It could be creepers, but it was very unlikely to happen, so what was causing all this commotion? Chris was almost at the edge of the tree line, he could see that some of the houses were on fire, while others had holes in them.

"What the hell happened here!?" Chris' blood was boiling. "Who did this to these peaceful people?" He thought to himself.

Chris stopped at the edge of the tree line, and he saw that there was twelve men, one of them throwing sticks of TNT randomly, and others killing innocent civilians, most likely bandits raiding the town for food and supplies. Upon seeing the horrors going on in front of him, this enraged Chris to the point of him thinking about slaughtering all of the invading bandits.

But if he entered the battle now, he would most likely get killed in fifteen seconds flat. Chris had to think clearly about this situation. He didn't like it one bit, he is not the kind of guy the take the stealth route. But since there were innocent lives on the line, he had no choice. There were two roads in front of him, the one to the right seemed to cross right in front of the bandit's lines of sight. The one to the left was hidden from sight by the villager's houses. Chris would take the right one most of the time. But he had to go on the left path and be stealthy.

Suddenly the man throwing the TNT stick yelled indistinctively.

"This is for harboring that monster! We're not gonna stop until you give her to us!" yelled the man holding the TNT.

What was he talking about.

"Harboring a monster? What does this 'female' have to do with these men? What could it all mean?" Chris thought.

Chris was slowly making his way to the village trying not to be seen by the enemy. He stopped dead in his tracks and hit the grass when he saw a man dragging a woman in green with pure black hair that went down to her middle-back, out of the house by her arm.

"LET ME GO!" she screamed at the bandit holding her by the arm, hitting him, and doing whatever she could do to get away.

"Not a chance." He said with a chuckle as he threw her to the ground with all of the twelve bandits surrounding her.

"What do they want with her?" Chris kinda over thinking it.

Suddenly a man that seemed to be in his fifties limped his way out of the same home as where the bandits brought the woman out of.

"YOU LET HER GO!" He shouted as he limped towards the woman to try and protect her while holding a golden sword.

"Shut up, old man." said the man to the right, he seemed to be the archer out of the bunch, he was about to shoot him as he aimed his bow and arrow at him.

"DAAAAAAAD!" The girl suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs.

He was about the shoot the old man, then Chris' protective instincts started to kick in, everything was going so slow for him as adrenaline started pumping through his veins. He grabbed his bow and an arrow out with his quiver, and aimed it at the archer that was going to kill this girl's dad and pulled on the arrow hard.

After a split second, for what seemed like minutes to Chris, He released the pressure his hand had on the arrow, and the arrow was sent flying into the side of the archer's head, impacting right through his skull, sticking three inches out the opposite side of the poor bastard's head. He was dead before he hit the ground. Chris, hoping not to get spotted, quickly hid behind a tree so that no one would see him.

After he fell and hit the cobblestone street, the rest of them were arguing indistinctively.

"What the fuck just happened?!" Yelled a man looking at his fallen comrade.

"Rucker's dead!" Another man screamed with fear in his voice.

The bandits were distracted long enough for Chris to quickly and quietly run toward the arguing group ahead and hid in a bush some 120 feet away, the old man saw him and mentally said "Thank you." Even though it was daylight out, the bandits were probably too stupid to think that soon, they would be next.

A man suddenly shouted "Jason, Xavier, Connor. Spread out, scan the area, find the fucker who did this, and bring him to me!" He said in evil tone, he seemed to be the leader.

Since the three men were now searching for him, they had decided to tie the old man and his daughter up and let them live until they found the mysterious assailant who had killed Rukker. Waiting in the bush for a bandit to come close, Chris had his sword ready for the right moment to strike. The Bandit known as "Jason" was moving closer to the bush he was hiding in.

Jason walked close enough to the bush for Chris to strike him down. The bandit's back turned to the bush, Chris stood up, half of his body exposed, Chris grabbed Jason from behind, positioned his strong arm around the bandit's neck, squeezing it very hard, he couldn't say or peep a word out of his mouth from the tremendous pressure around his neck.

"Time to die punk, you will pay for what you've done!" Chris whispered into the struggling bandit's ear.

At that moment Chris thrusted his iron sword into the bandit's chest, straight through his heart, blood bursting out of him in the pints, killing him in seconds. Chris withdrew his bloody sword from Jason's chest, and pulled his lifeless body into the bush concealing it. Chris jumped out of the bush and silently stalked to the next person on his shit list: Connor.

Chris saw who was known to be "Connor" right in front of a small red barn with a ladder on the left side of it. Chris was thinking of the best possible way to dispatch him. Then he had thought of something, Chris decided to climb the ladder to the roof of the red colored barn. Chris started walking over to the front end of the structure. This bandit named Connor was forty feet right below him. Conner turned around to walk through the barn, but Chris made some noise, which made the bandit look up. Chris had no choice but to jump off sword in hand, falling toward the bandit some feet below.

"What the FU-"

Connor was cut off by Chris landing on him, his sword running through his face down his spinal column, breaking through every bone the sword was driven through. Chris tried to remove the sword but it was stuck in the dead man's body. Chris heard footsteps coming his way.

"Hey Connor, got anything? Connor?" A unknown voice called out. Probably Xavier.

Chris ran into the barn as fast as he could before the bandit could see him. Right after Chris had hid in the barn, the unknown bandit walked past the barn corner to see his fellow bandit on the ground, a sword sticking out of him.

"Oh my God!" the bandit said covering his mouth.

He was probably going to call the others; Chris had no choice but to kill him, right here, right now. Chris walked out of the barn into the bandit's field of vision, bow drawn.

"Stay right where you are any sudden movements or yelling and you're going to end up like your dead friend here!"

The bandit put his hands up, dropping his sword.

"Good, now tell me. Why is your gang attacking these innocent people!? They have done nothing to your group!"

All he said was "You'll never understand, now go fuck off!" Before he turned and ran for help.

"Wrong move boy." Chris said as he closed his left eye and lifted the bow toward the man.

He released the tension on the bow, which sent the arrow flying at him, entering the back of his knee and straight through the other side, shattering his knee cap.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" The bandit screamed in pain, alerting the others.

Chris went and grabbed the sword out of Connor's body and ran to Xavier kneeled over him and spoke.

"I have a minute or two before the rest of them arrive here, NOW WHAT WERE YOU AND YOUR GANG OF ASSHOLES DOING HERE?! THESE PEOPLE HAVE DONE NOTHING TO YOU!"

Xavier turned his head, and spit in Chris' face, enraging him.

"Bad move, asshole" as he wiped the spit from his face.

Chris thrusted his sword through Xavier's jaw, through his tongue, the roof of his mouth, his brain, and exiting his scalp.

"Four down, eight to go." Chris said.

Chris removed his sword from the dead bandit's head and got up, hearing a mob of footsteps, Chris ran into a bush near Connor's body. The rest of them saw the two dead bodies in front of them.

"God Damn it, there dead!" Said a random bandit.

"Everyone just calm down."

"Calm down, CALM DOWN! Three, maybe four of us are dead, and we still don't know who the hell did it!"

"Hey, hold it guys, I think I see something in the bush near Connor's dead body!"

" James, throw a TNT stick over there just in case, that bastard is probably still here somewhere."

"Yes, Sir!" James said lighting a piece of the explosive he had.

He was about to throw it at Chris, or in his direction. Within a split second he devised a game plan. Chris quickly stepped out of the bush and shot a arrow into James' face, killing him, dropping him to the ground, making him also drop his lit TNT stick. His plan was working perfectly.

"THERE HE IS!" shouted a bandit wielding an axe.

"You guys might wanna check on your downed buddy there, you'll get a surprise." Chris said pointing at the still lit TNT.

Most of them said, "Oh SHIT!" others yelled "RUN!"

All of them ran too Chris screaming for their lives.

**BOOM!**

All of them were blown forward, the leader and the two behind were fine. The others weren't so lucky. The three nearest to the explosion were blown to bits, the other two a little further away were not, but their organs were liquefied from the inside.

As the last three bandits stumbled to their feet, they saw Chris seven feet away from them.

"You're going to pay for that, bastard!" The leader said

"Oh, I'm seriously shaking in my boots right now." Chris said to taunt the three bandits in front of him, to get them to make mistakes, and it was working.

"You shut your mouth, Asshole!" One of them said

"What makes you think you can win, its three on one." The other bandit said.

"No, its two on one."

"Wha—?"

Chris grabbed his bow as fast he humanly could and shot at a bandit to the right, right through the eye, he fell the ground, blood rushing out of his body, unmoving, dead.

The last two looked at their fallen comrade with anger in their eyes.

Chris was going to shoot the others, but he was out of arrows, he had no more options. He threw his sword at the distracted bandit to the left. The spinning sword impaled him right in the chest, destroying his heart, fatally wounding him, he fell to the ground with a audible thud. Blood pooling around him

"How is it going to be, you leave this place and never come back, or will I have to beat the living shit out of you." Chris said trying to instill fear into him.

The leader was all that was left of them. Scared out of his wits, he turned and ran back into town where the hostages were located. Chris started to give chase, but he wasn't as fast the leader.

A two minute chase ensued into town, but Chris was too slow to catch up to the speedster. Soon the leader got to the old man and his daughter sitting down near a now burning house, Chris presumed the older man owned it.

The ring leader grabbed the woman in green and pulled her to his level, holding her tightly, a sword held closely to her throat. Chris couldn't really see her face, her long black hair was covering her face up mostly.

"LET ME GO!" She screamed.

"Shut up." The leader said as he hit her with the hilt of his sword.

He was distracted, so Chris inched his way closer to them.

"St-stay back, I-I'll kill her . . . I will!" He ordered. And Chris did so, and stayed back.

"Why are you doing this? These people have done nothing to you!" I had asked the crazy man eight feet ahead.

"Because, this girl is a monster, my group was a monster hunting squad, created to do one thing, destroy monsters, we were called the: "The Monster Killers", horrible name I know, but our boss wasn't very creative."

"What? You're saying that, this woman… Isn't human?!" I said, drawing a blank.

"Yes, it is true." He said moving the hair out her face, revealing who or what she really was.

"What the…?" Chris said as he saw her face, she had been wearing green clothes, but she also had green skin, and eyes as black as night.

"Yes, this "girl" is a mixture of creeper and human DNA, this monster has to be eradicated for the good of mankind.

"B-but what has she ever done to you?" Chris had asked the man.

"It's not what she did, it's what she is, this girl was kidnapped from her parents by a mad scientist and killed them many years ago when she was very young, approximately 7 years old, she had been experimented on by him who was trying to make his own army of creepers that could actually think for themselves, wiping their memory and following his every command, she was his first test subject, me and my squad had invaded his lab to kill him, stop his experiments, and rescue her. But we were too late, by the time we were there she had already been turned. She was a dead girl from that point on, but she had miraculously escaped the facility, and was taken in by this old man right here." He said looking at him.

"How do you know she's hostile, she has probably been living here for years, in harmony with the rest of the people." Chris implored.

"Yeah, I didn't anything to anyone, I wouldn't hurt a fly." The 'woman' spoke.

"I'm not going to take that chance, I have only been given orders to eliminate her, you could join me and our cause, I can tell you have a great distain for the monsters of the night."

Chris had a great hatred for creepers, but this was a girl, she has a loved one, which means he had to save this girl and her adoptive father.

"I'm sorry, but… I can't let that happen, if you're "cause" is to take the life of this innocent woman. You're looking at the wrong fellow, because I won't harm a person no matter what they are. But instead I will do the opposite. No matter what she looks like, I will save her and her dad from you and your boss, and you will… be eliminated, one way or another. I care for the people of Trenton and will protect them at all costs."

At that statement the girl's eyes went wide, knowing that someone else other than her dad that was willing to protect her.

"Listen, you're right, I do have a hate for these monsters. I lost my home to them, and I was injured badly. I had fainted from lack of blood in my veins one night when I was outside, but these kind people here, they took me in and patched me up. From that moment on, I started to care about these people. Even if there is somebody that is… different from the others. That doesn't change that she's a good person. And if you don't back off, I will have to take action." Chris said, intimidating the leader.

"What could you do, you have nothing." He snarled at Chris.

At that statement, Chris grabbed the ender pearl out of his pocket, and showed him.

"What is that?" He asked Chris.

"Oh this, you'll find out soon enough." Chris said, smirking at him.

Chris quickly threw the ender pearl right past the leader's face. It landed on the ground behind him, the leader looked at it as it cracked and broke into many pieces.

"HA, you missed!" He said as his head turned back to look at Chris, but he was gone.

"Did I?" Chris appeared from behind the leader.

Chris swiped the sword from the hands of his opponent, and punched him in the back of the head, making him release the creeper/human girl, she stumbled back up and walked to her dad. After she was safe, Chris kicked his enemy in the back and pinned him on the cobblestone floor.

Chris put a foot on his opponent's back and grabbed his left arm, his right hand on the leader's left elbow, and his left hand around the mad man's wrist.

"Tell me who you work for, now!" Chris commanded.

"No, never!" He said.

"Tell me now, or I'll snap your arm in two!" Chris said as he was putting some pressure on his enemy's arm.

"NEVER!" he raised his voice .

"Suit yourself" At that very moment, the two bystanders decided to look away from what is about to happen. Chris started to press on the arm of his opponent, pressure building in the enemy's arm until.

**SNAP**

"AAHHHHHHHHHH!" The leader screamed.

Chris bent his enemy's arm in the wrong direction past the point of to return, his arm had snapped from the pressure, broken bones ripped through his flesh and blood was everywhere.

"Who do you work for!? I can do this all day and night if you'll like." Chris said.

"Never, you f-fuck." He struggled to say through the pain.

With his right arm, the squad leader grabbed a knife from his right pocket and stabbed Chris in the right side of his calf in his right leg.

"ARRGH!" Chris exclaimed.

Chris released the man from his death hold, clutching his leg in pain. The knife wielding man stood up on his feet and ran to Chris, knocking them both to the ground. The leader was on top of Chris trying to push the blade into Chris' face with his good arm, Chris had both of his hands trying to keep the knife away.

For a good fifteen seconds of keeping the knife at bay, the blade was getting really close to Chris' face. Chris looked to the left and noticed the old man's gold sword.

"A LITTLE HELP HERE, THROW ME THE SWORD!" Chris yelled at them.

"Y-yes." The creeper/human girl said as she grabbed the shiny sword and threw it to Chris. Chris had to use his right hand to grab the sword flying at him, in a second it was in the air, and then another second later it had landed right in Chris' hand.

"Nice throw." Chris struggled to say to the girl, who had blushed a dark green and looked away from what was about to happen.

Chris stabbed the golden sword into the man's right side going all the way through his body, rupturing major organs along the way. Followed by a terrible scream. Chris positioned his right foot on the man's chest, he kicked the leader off of him, making him fly a couple feet away, taking the sword with him, hitting the ground, incapacitated, but still alive for the moment.

Chris stumbled to his feet, breathing heavily from the close call. Looking over to the bystanders, Chris could see that they were safe. He took a deep breath and walked over to the motionless body.

"For the last time, who do you work for!?" Chris asked.

The leader is on the ground spiting up blood, didn't really say anything for some time

"I might as well t-tell you. I….I-I work for a man k-known as Ch-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, an arrow that seemed to come out of the forest had shot straight into his skull, and he died instantly.

Chris quickly ran to the tree line to search for the hidden assailant, entering the trees with the sun rays shining through their leaves. Five minutes into the search for the "assassin," he came up with nothing. So he decided to stop trying to find someone who was clearly gone.

Going back to Trenton, Chris has the feeling that he actually made a difference. It felt great.

Walking back to the body of the former squad leader, he pulled out the shining gold sword and started walking to the old man and the woman standing to the right of him. He saw that there were villagers around again, trying to fix the damage those assholes had caused.

"Hmm, they must've been hiding." Chris murmured to himself.

Chris stopped in front of the old man with the sword in his hands.

"I believe this is yours, sir." Chris said as he bowed slightly handing the senior his weapon.

"That all right, you saved me and my daughter, and the whole town. I can't thank you enough for that. You can keep it.

"Yeah, I saved you guys but, not everyone. He said looking at the innocent civilians bodies that were on the ground at random.

"You did what you could Mr. . . Um, what is your name son?" He asked Chris.

"My name is Chris, and yours?" Chris said smiling.

"My name is Louis, and my daughter's name is Taria."

Chris turned his head to the left to look atTaria, she wasn't looking back, trying not to make eye contact with him.

"Nice to meet you, Taria." Chris had said while bowing, she still wasn't making eye contact.

"Thank you." She said in a quiet, shy and also sweet voice, finally looking at Chris with her pure black eyes.

"For what?" Chris said curiously.

"For saving my dad, that guy with the bow was going to shoot him, I was for sure my dad was a goner, but you saved him. I thank you for your bravery." Taria said while leaning forward to give Chris a kiss on the cheek. Taria's cheeks turning to a darker shade of green, Chris looked away for a brief second then back at her, she was no longer looking at him.

"You're… welcome, Taria." He said softly.

Chris felt the cheek she just kissed with his hand, his own cheeks turning a little red. But, Chris was still uneasy about the whole," The Monster Killers" thing. Was there more of them? Would they just move on from this place and leave these two alone? He'll have to keep an eye on them. Chris had many things moving around in his head, but one thing he didn't know is that he, Louis and Taria were being watched from the forest by two hidden pairs of eyes.

"There's the target, she seems to be talking to the "hero" of the day." one said.

"Should we move in and assassinate her?" The other said

"Not yet, I think we should wait it out, for the perfect moment to strike." The one said with a smirk on his face.

"Ok, you've won this battle "Chris", but we will be back." He said as the duo made their way back to their base.

**Ok guys, thanks for reading. Review for cookies. :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry people for late update. Getting sick for 2 weeks + school = Month long wait for Chapter 3 xD**

**Chapter 3: Kidnapped **

"Sir, we have some bad news." Said one of the two assassins who just arrived from Trenton looking at their captain, who was sitting in a chair. His face pointed away from them.

"And what bad information would one of my most trusted and loyal assassins have for me? I don't think it is of any importance, since you have never come to me with bad news before."

Both assassins looked at each other and back then one spoke.

"Sir… It is of the highest importance."

The captain turned in his chair to face the other two, he looked at the assassins in front of him, and gave them a stare that sent shivers up their spines.

"So… you guys serious about this."

"Yes sir." The assassin replied.

"Okay, what is so important that it needs to be brought to my attention?" He said leaning forward on his desk in front of him.

The assassin gulped and said.

"Sir, alpha team is down, during the purge of Trenton to find that creeper freak. It was a total loss."

His eyes widened at the assassins words.

"WHAT… Are you seriously telling me that my team the most talented of fighters... is GONE?!" He said slamming his hands on his desk.

The other assassin opened his mouth to say something but his master continued.

"Well, I guess I probably shouldn't have underestimated the village, this has been a total waste of my time and recourses." He said rubbing his temples

The assassin reopened his mouth to speck.

"Sir, the village didn't bring the demise of alpha team."

"Will… HOW DID! What apposing force could be strong enough to defeat my best soldiers?" He said with anger pouring through his features.

"Sir, we do not know much about the whole situation. But I and my partner had observed the all of it happen. Even more humiliating to the death of alpha team is that they were eliminated my one man."

The leader's eyes widened for a second time in disbelief.

"Do you really expect to believe that, one… single… man did this." He replied seething with anger.

"Sir, his battle methods were ruthless, he was very fluent with his attacks. He even used his environment as a weapon. This man is a very formidable enemy."

"Will, I'm very inclined to discard all of this, but… this interests me. Do we have information on this man, or the fact of why did he protect the village with his life.

"Will this man is very illusive. It was extremely hard to get any information on him. He has little or no ties to anything. His name is Chris, as far as we know he has lived alone his whole life."

"Then what makes a man like him just wonder into a village, this don't make any sense."

"I'm getting to that, let me finish, It seems that on a fateful night a day and a half ago he was driven out of his home in the middle of the night, his home was located in the middle of Trenton's dense forest. He had an arrow hole in his leg with many other things, but still made his way through the forest to the village, only to black out some feet away. And be taken in into the Red Star Hospital by the village people. He also has no last name so it is impossible to get any info in his family. We're not even sure he has any that are alive."

"Then what made this Chris person defend the village."

"I'm getting to that sir." He replied

"A day later he left the hospital and returned to the forest to try and rebuild. The grenadier of alpha team make a lot of commotion and noise, and Chris traveled to Trenton to investigate. That was when he found them."

"Well how is this possible? If the injuries you say Chris sustained are that serious how was he allowed to leave?" He said with a curious tone.

"Well, Chris is a very abnormal person."

"Elaborate."

"Yes sir, I wanted an answer for that to. So when I and my apprentice arrived to Red Star to investigate. We searched the flies containing Chris' information, and what we found was quite interesting."

"Well… tell me."

"From what the medical officers came up with was that Chris has some sort of genetic mutation. This mutation has his cell division count skyrocket, healing all his wounds over night. But there could be an extent to his abilities. Chris may be able to heal at inhuman speeds, but I don't think he can regenerate dismembered limbs."

"Hmm… intriguing. But why did he defend people of Trenton?"

"Let me continue sir. During the purge alpha team finally found the freak named Taria that we've been searching for. They we're going to kill her and her adoptive father, but Chris intervened before they could. And killed them all. After they had helped Chris with his wounds at Red Star, he cares for and protects the people with his life, even that creeper girl abomination. From his personality I've come to think that he is very protective of his friends and those he cares for. So I suggest that you send no other teams to that village. And we can try to get her on another day."

"This has really set back my plans. We can't just take her. Chris may follow us and try to kill us… hmm." He said deep in thought

"What should we do sir?" He said knelling down

"This Chris character will just be a great nuisance to me. But, form what you tell me is that he is a force to be reckoned with even if he is just one man, so we need to get reed of them both."

"What will you have us do, sir?"

"If he actually cares for Taria enough to protect her like he did, why not kidnap her and use her as bait to lure Chris to us, we can kill him and go on with my plans."

"Are you sure that is a good idea sir?" The apprentice said.

"I have a plan, young one. You two with go back to Trenton under the dead of night, kidnap Taria, and leave a message for Chris. But wait for a little while, wait for the right moment to complete your mission.

"Yes sir." Both said

"Oh, and one more thing. When you have Taria, do with her what you wish. But don't kill her, we need leverage. Understood. "

The assassins looked at each other with wicked smiles on their faces.

"Understood, sir." With that they walked out of the room.

It has been a single month since the "The Monster Killer Incident". Taria had gone back to her original routine, wake up out her bed, eat breakfast, do chores and later she would go walk in Trenton's central park for an hour or two. Even better, it was the day that Chris was coming back to check up on them. Over time they have become very good friends. Taria enjoyed her time with Chris, and she was really excited to speck with him again. Taria was eating some soup in the dining room table until she heard her dad come near.

"Hello my daughter, how are you today?" Louis said.

"I'm fine, thanks dad." She said giving him a hug

"That's good to hear."

"So what do you have planned for today dad?"

"Well I was going to go to work, and later I was going to the flower shop where I'll try to ask Clara out on a date." He said with a smile on his face.

"Dad, you've been trying to get her to go out with you for weeks now. I don't know if your "charm" can go that far dad."

"Well no harm to keep trying right? Oh, and speaking of that, isn't Chris coming over to see you today?"

Taria's cheeks turned a dark green from hearing his name, and looked away from Louis toward to window.

"From your reaction I guess that is a yes."

"You're too clever."

"That I am. Well I'm heading out, be careful Taria."

"I know dad but, if those guys where to do something to me they would've done it by now."

"Just humor your old man for a bit."

"Ok dad, I'll be careful." She said giving him another hug before he left.

Taria had been walking through the park for forty-five minutes, hoping it would be a good pastime before Chris arrived. Until she saw a park bench with two of her girl friends sitting on it. And she walked over to talk to them

"Hi Sarah. Hi Claire." Taria said.

The two girls turned to see their friend standing to the right of them.

"Oh, hi Taria." Both said.

"How are you girls doing?"

"Good, you?" Sarah asked her friend

"Surprisingly good, actually."

Both Sarah and Claire looked at Taria with smiles.

"Uhhh... why are you two looking at me like that?"

Sarah opened her mouth to speck.

"I think I know why you're 'Surprisingly good'. I heard that the hunk of a guardian angel is coming to check up on you. Why don't you tell him you like him? And don't deny it I can see it in your eyes."

Taria felt her cheeks heat up at her question. Taria didn't know If Chris was the guy she should pursue. But she knows she feels something for him. And it was not something to put in question.

"I don't think I can, not one single guy has gotten past what I look like, and they all just look at me with disgust in their eyes. Chris will probably not be too different from the others." She said with her head dipped down.

The other girls looked at each other, both trying to say something to their friend. Then Claire opened her mouth.

"Well, I think Chris is different. And I think he might like you back. And also that he cares for you, if he didn't he probably wouldn't have protected you like he did a month ago, and he wouldn't be checking on you from time to time. What do you see when you look into his eyes?"

"I think I see… compassion."

"You should tell him that you like him." Her friend said trying to encourage her.

"My head is telling me not to, but my heart tells me different." She said holding a hand to her chest.

"Yeah, that's how love is." Sarah said patted Taria's shoulder

_"Was it love? Or was it yearning, lust, or just loneliness. It could be many thinks. But I have to take a chance with this."_ Taria thought to herself

"I'll tell him when he comes back." Taria said with a smile on her face.

"That's good to hear Taria, now you don't have to be so lonely." Claire said reassuringly

"That's if he feels the same way." Taria replied

"I'm sure he will." Sarah said

"Anyway, what are you two doing in the park? I rarely ever see you girls here."

"Oh, well Claire thought it would be nice to come here for once." Sarah said with a slight chuckle.

"Will it was nice to see and talk to you girls again, I'm going to walk to rest of the way and go back home."

"Oh ok." Sarah said

"Well, see you around Taria." Claire said before Taria walked away.

Taria was fifteen minutes on the park's exit path. Sarah and Claire were out of sight. And she was alone, which she didn't like being, under these current circumstances. But she was safe, or at least that's what she thought until she heard what sounded like a twig snapping under some ones foot behind her.

Taria turned quickly turned around to see what or who made that sound but there was nothing. There were only just the stone walkway she'd been walking on and the randomly planted trees around the park.

"Ah, I must just be my imagination. Get a grip Taria." She said trying to calm herself down.

But when she turned back she bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm very sorr—"

The man grabbed her and put her in a head lock. Then another man walked over to them.

"What the hell do you think you guys are doing?!" He yelled trying to get out of the choke inducing head lock.

"Sorry freak, we have our orders." He said tightening the arm around her neck.

In response Taria hissed at the two assassins.

"Hiss all you want freak. No one will hear you." As he said as his apprentice punched her in the left side of her face with enough force to knock her out. Her body went limp, and blood started pouring out her mouth and fell to the pavement in a stream of crimson red.

"Well, she's out. Nice work, come my apprentice, let's go." He said throwing Taria over his shoulder.

"Can we torture her when we get back?" The younger one asked.

"Yes, but remember what our captain said. Not to kill her. Do you have the note for Chris ready?"

The apprentice pulled out a piece of paper and an arrow and stabbed it to a nearby glowstone post.

"Ok, everything is in place. Let's go."

With their mission complete the two assassins discreetly made their way back to base.

Chris had woken up on a brilliant summer morning, with the sunlight barreling past his bedroom window into his room. Chris had rebuild his home, and also put up a stone around the perimeter that he wanted to do for a little bit. Which proved effective, the monsters were kept out, and he could sleep peacefully. Occasionally Chris would go back to Trenton to check on Louis and Taria to make sure they were safe, but deep down inside he felt that it was not the only reason.

Over time Chris and Taria become good friends. He didn't have any friends, since he lived alone for a large portion of his live. But he was happy to finally have one. Chris was actually going to Trenton after lunch to see them. After he had eaten a couple pork chops and tended to his farm he headed out to Trenton, leaving his home.

It was about 10:30 in the morning as Chris was walking through the forest heading north to the village. The Sunlight was beaming through the trees into Chris' face, the sunlight sometimes calms him down, and knowing that it was up in the sky monsters wouldn't come out of their caves. Twenty minutes later Chris had exited the forest and saw Trenton.

Chris walked past the front gates into town, but his thoughts were interrupted as pushed to the ground. Chris turned around to see a man in front of him, riding a rather large pig.

"Oh, sorry bout that stranger, Betty here just likes to meet new people." He said rubbing Betty's side.

"That's ok." Chris said as he struggled to get on his feet.

"Oh my, you're that guy who saved the town form those evil people, I'm very glad someone did it, can't believe they would go to those great lengths just to get one girl. I would've tried to help but was out feeding my pigs when it happened. Thank you for the help. Oh, and the names Ale."

"No problem Ale, my name is Chris."

"Pleased to meet you Chris." He said holding out an arm, gesturing for me to shake it. Which Chris did.

"Nice seeing you Chris but I have pigs to feed back home."

"Yeah, nice meeting you, Ale." Chris said as Ale road of in the distance on his pig.

"Hmm… riding a pig, interesting."

Back on his train of thought, Chris still had to go and check on Louis and Taria. Going past many of the houses that made up Trenton weren't that very different from his own home. While walking through the streets occasionally receiving a "Hello" or two form the friendly locals. Chris finally had Louis' home in sight. Moving closer he knocked on the door, but no one answered. Chris was getting a little worried.

Still in front of the house Chris put an ear on the door, trying to hear if anyone was in there, he heard nothing, until he heard someone yelling from the right of him. It was Louis, running up to him.

"CHRIS!" He yelled for him.

"What?" Chris asked, worried that something might've happened

"Taria is missing."

"What, h-how do you know?" Chris asked with a slight stutter.

"She usually gets up it at 7:30 and walks around the town park and comes home usually at 9:00, but when I came back here from work she still wasn't home. I thought she was just running late so I waited until 10:30. That was when I started searching for her, but I came up with nothing. I tried to get help, but anybody that could were too scared to get involved, I ran to your house, but you weren't there. And if they got her, she's probably dead. " He said with sorrow in his voice.

"I'm not so sure, where is this Town Park?" Chris asked

"It's toward the east side of Trenton, go past the bakery and take a left."

Just as he said that Chris started sprinting to the park, going fast then he had ever been. Chris ran past the bakery, a few more yards forward he took a left, and saw the park. It was big, how will he find her. Entering the park Chris saw all of the scenery. But he has a job to do. Twenty-three minutes into the investigation Chris had came up with nothing, Chris was losing hope. Until he saw a light post near some bushes. Chris saw that there was something sticking out of it, sparking Chris' curiosity.

"Hmm… what's that?" Chris said walking closer to it

He saw that it was a rolled up piece of paper with an arrow stuck to it. Chris walked up to it and took the arrow out of the post and the paper with a map attached to it and unraveled it, there was some text on it, much to his disliking it had involved Taria.

The text on the paper said: "If you want to see this monster you call Taria again, you better come to this location on the map below this paragraph. And come alone, if you don't, she's dead. And Chris, don't keep us waiting."

_"How do they know my na-Wait a minute, If there trying to kill her like last time they could just do it now, but there using her to get to me. What are they planning?"_ He thought as he put the paper and map in his pocket. But a voice that came from behind him broke Chris from his train of thought.

"Hello there." A feminine voice called out

Chris turned around to see two young girls walking up to him.

"Um… Hello." Chris said nonchalantly

"Is your name Chris by any chance?" One girl asked

Uh, yeah why do you ask?"

"See I told you he looked familiar." One said to the other.

"Who are you two?"

"Oh how rude of me. My name is Sarah. And my friend here is Claire."

"Well sorry girls, I have very important business to attend to." Chris said as he turned around and started to leave.

"I hope you know you make Taria happy. So you have a good time with her." Sarah said. Chris had blushed from her sentence.

"I can't."

The girls look at each other and looked back at Chris.

"Why not?"

"I have a reason to believe that Taria has been kidnapped at this very spot."

Both Sarah and Claire's eyes widened at his statement.

"H-how do you know that. We were just with her earlier today." Sarah said with her voice trembling.

"When I arrived to her home earlier no one was there, and I was worried. Until her father come up to me saying that she had not returned from her walk here."

"No. S-she can't be d-dead." Claire sobbed

"She's not dead."

"H-how do you know that?" Claire asked with tears in her eyes.

They are using her to get to get to me. For a reason I can't explain. But the reason may be is that they want revenge for what I did to them a month ago."

"That seems like a logical answer. Are you going to save her?" Sarah asked giving Chris puppy dog eyes.

"Of course I will."

"Were coming with you." Sarah said with a stern voice.

"I won't allow it." Chris said

"Why not! She's our friend too!"

"I am not allowing anyone else to be put in that kind of danger."

"Were coming wither you like at or no-

"I said NO! The kidnappers left me a message." Chris said as he pulled out the paper and showed them it. "They said that they would kill her if I didn't come alone."

"…"

"Look, I'm sorry you can't come with me. But I promise to bring her back." That was all he said before he turned and left.  
-

Chris ran his way back to Louis' house, and saw Louis sitting on a bench near his home. Chris stopped running and sat next to Louis.

"Did you find her?" He said with tears falling from his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't, but I did find this." Chris said as he reached into his pocket pulled out the paper and map, and gave it to Louis.

"What is this?" Louis asks

"Read it." Chris said, with no emotion in his voice.

After a minute Louis finished reading and looked forward.

"She still alive, thank God. But want do they want with you?" He asked Chris

"I don't have a clue, but I have to do what they say, I don't want her to die."

"I'm coming with you." Louis said in a stern voice.

"Did you even read the note thoroughly, they will kill her If I don't come alone."

"Hmm, that's going to be trouble Chris, It's probably a trap."

"I know but, I have to try to save her." Chris said.

"So, where do they want you to go?" Louis asked

"South east from here, past the surrounding trees to some sort of mountain range."

"You mean those over there?" Louis said as he pointed to some far away mountains.

"I think so."Chris said.

"Those mountains are a dangerous place Chris. That is where most of the monsters congregate."

"I don't care." I said in a heroic voice

"Well, I wish you luck."

"Thank you Louis." Chris said as he got up from the beach and walked back to his home for supplies for the journey.

Chris was back at his cottage collecting items, 4 cooked pork chops, his iron sword, and an iron chest plate, and some medical supplies just in case things get choppy, some torches and a flint and steel. Putting on the chest plate and taking all his items and dropped them in his trusty sack and closing it and threw it over his shoulder and left his house.

Moving back thorugh Trenton, Chris was going to go back to Louis to say goodbye before his journey started.

"Hey, Louis."Chris called to him, he was still sitting on that same bench.

"Hello Chris, you heading out?" Louis asked

"Yeah, I just wanted to say bye before I left."

"Y-you'll bring her back right?" Louis asked with tears in his eyes.

"Louis, I promise you, I'll get her back before you know it." Chris said reassuringly

"I hope so."

"I know so." Chris said patting Louis on the shoulder.

"Sooooo… Bye Louis."

"May your journey be a safe one my friend." Louis said

"Thanks." Chris said as he left Louis at the bench and made his to the mountains.

Chris had just gotten out of the trees, exiting Trenton's border line. When Chris caught sight of some large mountains in the distance. The sun was starting to go down so he had to move quickly. He had promised Louis to bring Taria safe and sound. Chris' conscience wouldn't be able to handle her death, he couldn't take letting an innocent woman slip through his fingers and get killed, she's out there somewhere. Cold and alone, but alive. And that is all what mattered.

Chris has been walking to the mountain to climb it but a sudden stir of moaning sounds to his right some meters away. Which again spiked Chris' curiosity, and he investigated the strange noise. To Chris' astonishment he saw a large ravine, with a river running through It. But to his displeasure there a large number of various types of monsters down there, hiding in the shadows. Just waiting for the last moments before the sun went down. And to start wreaking havoc on this world.

_"I guess Louis wasn't lying, I'm not going down there any time soon, I'd better hurry up to the mountain." _Chris thought

Continuing on to the mountain in the distance the sun had been completely shrouded by the horizon, starting night. This means that he has to be on high alert knowing that anything can pop out and try to kill him. Taking the map he had acquired earlier Chris started walking to designated destination that was marked on the map.

Chris had been hiking many meters up the side of the mountain, but there was something not right. He was surprised to find that even in the dark of night there were no zombies or anything. Just the insects chirping and the wind was all he heard.

_"Louis said that this was the place where monsters congregated, but this area is deserted except for the ravine I saw, this is very strange."_ Chris thought

Thinking nothing more of it Chris kept climbing the mountain side until he saw a sparkle of light to his left. It was a lit torch and wooden sign next to it. He couldn't read it from the distance from him and the sign so he moved closer to it, being very cautious knowing it could be a trap. Closer to the sign Chris could finally read the text it said: "Follow the torch path." The colors of the letters were red. Possibly written in blood, Chris know what blood smelt like. The fact that this could be Taria's blood made his own blood boil.

_"I hope she's ok."_

Doing with the blood stained sign said Chris walked along the torch illuminated path. Iron sword drawn, ready to kill if needed. Following the path Chris finally stopped to see another sign. "Stop" It read. Which he reluctantly obeyed. And he waited for a couple minutes for what seemed like hours before he heard something come closer to him.

"Ah Chris, it is good to finally you in person." A voice that sounded like a hissing snake spoke to him.

Chris turned his head a little to the left to see who said. It was a man dressed in black, a large scar running from his forehead down to his right cheekbone. And brown eyes that seemed to stare into Chris' soul.

"How the hell are you?" He said pointing his sword at the man.

"Oh pardon me, were are my manners. My name is Chandler."

When this man said that, Chris remembered something.

_"For the last time, who do you work for!?" Chris ordered._

_"I might as well t-tell you. I….I-I work for a man k-known as Ch-" _

_He didn't get to finish his sentence, an arrow that seemed to come out of the forest had shot straight into his skull, and he died instantly.  
_-

"So you're the one who caused all this madness."

"Whatever do you mean, Chris" He said chuckling

"I'm just putting two and two together."

"Smart too, I never would've thought. Let's just cut to the chase Chris, I would like for you to join me. You are a very skilled fighter Chris, one that I think I can bring to the top of the food chain." He said walking closer to Chris and holding his hand out.

"Why should I?"

"Because, I can give you what you want. Wealth, power, women. It can all be yours, if you come with me."

The fact that Chandler could he entertain the fact of Chris joining him was foolish. Chris smack Chandler's hand away and pointed his at him.

"How could you even consider that. You are disgusting. Now, WHER THE FUCK IS TARIA!"

Chandler smirked.

"Oh her, well she's here. Mat, Jean. Bring her out."

Suddenly Chris heard the sounds of a pair of footstep from behind Chandler. Chris to his horror the two men dragged an unconscious Taria from the shadows leaving a trail of blood behind them. From looking at her Chris saw she had been striked many times with a blunt force object. Her clothes were tattered and torn. And her perfect black fair has been stained crimson. Blood was oozing from her mouth, nose and many other places. There was a deep gash across her stomach. And there were many bruises all across her body. When they were close enough they threw her body in-between Chris and Chandler, a pool of her blood slowly started to form.

"HOW DARE YOU LEY A HAND ON HER!" Chris screamed at them.

"Sorry about that Chris, my assassins were just having some fun." He said with another evil smirk.

"YOU FU-"

"I'm going to stop you there Chris. You and I both know what she is, and she will become a problem for me in the future. I will eliminate all of else abominations of the face of the earth, and th-."

"But she's just as human as you or me."Chris interrupted

"That is where you are wrong Chris."

"SHE DIDN"T EVEN DECIDE TO BE THIS WAY! Your letting your hatred for the actual monsters cloud your eyesight."

"My plans are to eradicate all of them, and when they are all gone. I with become king. And no one will escape my rule."

"That's pretty ambitious for a little asshole like you." Chris insulted

"Hahahaha, you have become a rather larger pain in my side. Kill him."

His assassins now started to move closer with their own swords drawn. Both of them held their swords high and drought them down at Chris, but he blocked both swords with his. Two versus one wasn't that bad of odds knowing that he fought an overwhelming number of men before just by himself and defeated them. Seeing an opening the younger of the two had Chris took it, he lifted his foot and kicked the younger one in the chest. Knocking the wind out of him and probably broke a rib or two. It was just him and Mat for the time being. Mat putting more pressure on Chris' sword, he managed to push Chris back a couple feet.

Chris threw a quick but powerful punch to the side of Mat's face, get him to stagger back. With Mat being stunned as he is Chris quickly brought his sword down on Mat, cutting of his left arm above the elbow.

"AHHHHHHH!"

Mat quickly recovered and used his own sword and tried to slash at Chris' face, but he leaned back away from it. Chris delivered another solid punch to Mat's face, knocking him on his back. By that time both men had still been struggling to get to their feet. Chris looked back at Chandler with the intent to kill.

"Your next, asshole."

"How is it going to be Chris hmm?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well truly how oblivious are you Chris? Are you going to continue fighting and waste time? Or are you going to help your little friend over there before she bleeds to death." He said pointing at Taria's motionless body.

Chris had completely forgotten about Taria in his rage. He turned away the others and rushed to Taria's side. He looked at her face, she was losing her happy green color and becoming pale.

"Taria, don't die on me." He said grabbing a hold of her.

"Disgusting." Chandler muttered

"You know something. FUCK YOU!" Chris yelled at him while picking Taria up and carrying her bridle style and turned around to leave for medical help for Taria.

"You know that this isn't the last time you're going to see." Chandler said

"I'm counting on it, I _will_ kill you. But not now." That was the last thing he said to Chandler before he left.

Chris and an unconscious Taria had traveled back down the mountain with not many complications except Taria was losing a lot of blood. It was still dark so it was still hard to see far away. Chris had finally climbed the mountains last hill and was on level ground again.

"Hang in there Taria. We're nearly there." Chris said while he began walking forward.

He was walking with Taria closely in his arms. She looked to peaceful even after everything that had happened. Chris wished that she would pull through this and come back to him. But his thoughts had been interrupted by many moaning sounds from behind him. He turned around to see dozens of zombies stalking them.

_"Great timing, the whole trip here nothing, and now." _He thought as he quickened the pace

Chris soon figured out the zombie horde were slowly surrounding them. They had nowhere to run, until Chris spotted the ravine he saw earlier. Then an idea popped into his head.

_"I'm really going to hate myself in the morning."_

With no choice left he held Taria tighter in his arms and jumped into the depths of the ravine. Falling about 200 feet they finally landed safely into the water that ran through it. But the zombies fell into the ravine after them.

"Don't you guys ever quit?!" He yelled.

Holding a wet Taria in his right arm, he used his other arm to swim away from the zombies. Luckily the undead beings were extremely inhibited by the water, giving Chris and Taria time to escape. Climbing onto some rocks Chris with Taria still in his arms had finally stood on some solid ground. Turning around to see the horde very slowly making their way to him, he turned on his heel and ran.

Chris kept running until he could hear the moans of the undead. He could barely see anything either. Chris set Taria down on the hard to get a torch to light the area up, he grabbed his sack and looked in it. Some of its contents are missing but the essential things are still in it. His trusty flint and steel, a single torch, his medical supplies and one pork chop. Lighting the torch with the flint and steel and storing it back in his sack he positioned the torch between a couple rocks to keep it steady. Chris kneeled down then he looked at Taria on the ground beside him. She didn't too good. Grabbing his first aid kit, firstly he took some bandages and put them on most of her small cut wounds. Next Chris looked at the large gash on her belly, he put his hand and the wound to slow down or stop the already slow bleeding. Chris put a place of white cloth with disinfectant on it and placed it on the gash, and taped it to her with some surgical tape.

Looking up to her face, he could she had a broken nose and it was out of place. Chris put a hand on the back of her head and the other on her nose. With some pressure he repositioned it back into place with an audible crack. Examining her limbs to see if any were broken, none of them were until he saw here left lower leg. It was a little swollen and when he touched it he could saw that the bones were moving freely inside her leg. It was clearly broken, but he couldn't do anything about it. He didn't have the right recourses to treat a broken leg. Chris has done all he could for now.

"Even though this is not a permanent fix to your injuries, I did all I could. Ju-just hold on a bit longer." Chris said to Taria, not receiving an answer

_"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most. " _Chris thought that this was his fault.

Chris sat down next to Taria and looked at her, he was going to kill Chandler and his minions for what they've done. Chris sat hand touched her neck to check her pulse. He was relieved to know that she was alive, but her pulse was faint and inconsistent. Chris sat Taria's body up and pulled her close to him to keep her body warm. He just wished he could've held her like this forever. Taria was a sweet, gentle and kind person. He couldn't believe that anyone could do this to her, even if she different. To Chris, Taria was a fallen angel from heaven, her beauty had captivated him, even though he didn't show it much on the outside, but every time he saw her, or the beautiful smile that she seemed to posses, he found that his heart would try to beat out of his chest. And seeing her like this was too much for him, he felt like crying, but he had to be strong for the both of them.

_"I'm sorry for letting this happen to you Taria, those bastards are going to pay dearly. I swear it."_

Chris was exhausted from today's events, his eyes lids were heavy. He couldn't fight the sleepiness that creeped up on him. Chris had shut his eyes and was sunk into a dreamless sleep.

**Well here's the end people and fellow viewers. Again I'm sorry for not posting Chapter 3 in a while. You know how life can be.**

**And always remember to Review :3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello boys and girls on this beautiful Sunday evening. (Or whatever time it is when I post this) I finally finished this. Read and enjoy, and tell me what you think of it. :3 **

**And I would like to give a special thanks to all of the people who reviewed, favorited and followed this story.**

**Julesthejellyfish**

**Endersail**

**Death88400**

**Peacemaker78550**

**blastburnman**

**shadythedragon**

**THANK YOU VERY MUCH. COOKIES FOR ALL! 3**

**Chapter 4: Escape **

Chris had slowly opened his heavy eyes to see the cave area illuminated by the torch and the various ores and precious minerals that were in random areas inside the cave that they were in. He was relieved to know that no monsters had ambushed him while he was sleeping. Looking down to his right side, he saw a sleeping or still unconscious Taria with her head on his shoulder.

Setting Taria steady Chris stood up from his sitting position and started to stretch his tired muscles while remembering what had happened the other night. As he finished stretching his arms and legs he looked back to Taria. Moving closer to her, he put his hand on her neck to check her pulse.

It was still there, faint but still there.

_"I have to wake her up and tell her the situation, then to get out of this death trap and get her some help._" Chris thought putting a hand on her left shoulder.

"Hey, Taria wake up." Chris said.

No response. Although he didn't notice that she was awake but her eyes were closed.

"Hey Tar—" Chris couldn't finish as he was struck with a rock in the side of the head with great force. Blood was slowly falling from his head wound to the stone floor.

"You bastard! S-stay away from me!" Taria yelled at Chris.

"Wha-what are you talking about Taria? It's me Chris." He said disarming Taria and grabbing her shoulders through his sever head pain and keeping her in one place. Chris didn't want her to move, she had a broken leg.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed try to squirm out of his grasp.

"Damn it Taria snap out of it, it's me Chris." He said looking into her eyes. She still wasn't giving any reply to him. That was when he desided to pull her into his arms in a heartwarming hug. For a good fifteen seconds Chris held onto her, until he released her from the hug and looked at her again.

"Chr-Chris, is that you?" She whispered as she saw what she had done to him.

"Yeah, it is." He said putting a forgiving hand on her shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I thought… I'm so sorry." She dipped her head down and started crying.

Chris' hand reached for Taria's chin and he pulled her head up to look at him. He whipped away her tears with his thumb and spoke.

"It's ok Taria, I understand." He said as he pulled her into another sudden hug. He wrapped his arms tightly around her trying to comfort her in any way he could. Taria had become flustered from the sudden contact but she liked it, she felt so warm in his arms, and she hugged him back.

"You're safe now Taria, no one is going to harm you while I'm around." He said releasing Taria from the hug.

"I-I'm sorry for hitting you." She said looking at the blood falling from his face.

"It's okay, I'll be fine."

After a brief silence Taria spoke.

"Where are we Chris?"

Chris took a deep breath.

"After I had rescued you from the clutches of the enemy I escaped the mountain with you in my arms, but you were seriously injured. On my way back to Trenton we were ambushed by a horde of zombies. My only choice was to jump into a ravine with a river running through it. After that I brought you to a cave and dealt with most of your wounds, but not all. Your nose was broken and misplaced. You had a large gash across your stomach, many cuts and bruises and bleeding many other places, and finally a broken leg. I treat most of them but the leg I couldn't fix. I'm sorry for not getting to you sooner."

"It's ok Chris I'm fine, you came for me at least, if you came any later I may have been dead."

"No it's not fine, I should have been more observant. I didn't want to see you hurt, finding you like that made my blood boil inside me. I'm going to kill those assholes!"

"Calm down Chris, its fine. Don't let revenge cloud your mind." Taria stated

"Ok. Let's get out of here."

"Do you even know where to go Chris?" She said as he picked her back up in his arms, which made her blush again.

"I have a good memory. We can get back to the river, but the hard part would be trying to climb the ravine walls, and that wouldn't be an option. I'll think of something."

"Well you came this far, I'm sure we'll be fine." She said as she grabbed the lit torch located on the ground.

With Chris holding Taria and her holding the torch Chris started retracing his steps back to the ravine opening.

Even though Taria had been still in pain, mostly from her broken leg, but she felt safe in his arms. Knowing that he'll protect her from anything put her mind at ease. She held Chris tight as he walked through various cave entrances and exits trying to find the place where they had fell into. He has been carrying her for fifteen minutes before they had actually seen sunlight in the distance.

"Hey Chris, look." She said pointing in the direction of the light.

"Yeah, I see it." Chris said still walking ahead.

Walking over to the edge he saw the ravine opening with the sunlight coming in. Their here, but how do they get out? Chris put Taria down on the ground and reached in his sack of his items.

"Hey what are yo-?"

"Hey Taria are you hungry?" Chris interrupted

Knowing that Taria has been gone for many hours she was probably starving. Chris picked up the pork chop and walked over the Taria and kneeled.

"Yeah I'm dying over here." She said with a slight chuckle.

"Here, eat this." Chris said handing her the pork chop. She used her right hand to take it.

"Thanks Chris." Chris sat down next to her to think of a solution for their current predicament that they are in. He had to think of something or they'll be stuck down here for a while. Taria was about to take a bite of the pork chop until she  
paned her eyes to the right where Chris was sitting with a hand to his chin, most likely thinking.

"Hey… Chris?"

"Oh… Yeah Taria, what is it?"

"Aren't you going to eat something? Didn't you pack anything else in your bag?"

"No… well I did have other pork chops, but I lost them when we jumped into this ravine."

She looked down at the pork and tore it in half and handed the half over to Chris.

"Here… You should eat to."

"No, you need all the energy you can get right now in your current physical condition."

"Neither are you, you're probably exhausted too."

"But you're the one that is hurt"

"You know Chris. I can be very stubborn when I want to be."

"I kinda figured that one." He said taking the half pork chop.

After they had finished eating the two have just been sitting together for five minutes. Chris was still thinking out how to get out of the pickle they were in to but to no a vile. Taria had been trying to think of something herself, going through all available scenarios but death or no escape was the only two outcomes.

"Hey Chris… got anything?" Taria asked

"No not really. You?"

"Nope, nothing."

"Well were pretty much out of opt-"

"HEY… ANYBODY DOWN THERE?!" An all too familiar voice called out.

_"I know that voice." _Chris thought

Chris and Taria looked up to the top of the ravine to see a silhouette of someone. Focusing in on the person Chris could see that it was Ale many meters above them.

"Down her Ale!"

"Hey… Chris is that you?! What are you doing down there?!"

"Long story! What are you doing here!" Chris yelled

"I'll tell you later! First I'll get you guys out of there! I'll get some rope and come back!"

"Thanks Ale, I owe you one!" With that Ale left to get the supplies needed to help them

Chris turned back to Taria and kneeled down to her.

"You hear that Taria we're getting out of here." He said with a smile on his face.

"Good. Who was that? Do you know him?"

"Yeah, his name is Ale. I met him back at Trenton before I found out that you were missing."

"Ok."

"Now all we have to do is wait for Ale to come back."

_"Hopefully she'll be fine until she gets proper care." _Chris thought

"Ok Chris I have some rope I'm gonna feed it down!" He said when he came back. After that the rope was slowly making its way down to Chris and Taria. Thirty seconds later Chris took hold of the rope and wrapped it around his waist tightly. Then he walked over to Taria and picked her up.

"Ok Ale, pull us out! But be careful I'm holding precious cargo!" Taria blushed from his words.

"Roger that!" Ale replied.

After that, Ale started pulling in the rope attached to Chris' waist, while he was carrying Taria tightly so she can't fall out of his grasp. Chris' feet meet the ravine's wall as they were being pulled up and Chris started to 'walk up' the side of the ravine wall.

"You guys ok down there?!" Ale said still pulling on the rope.

"Peachy, Just don't lose your grip!' Chris replied

It was a grueling three minute before the two had finally climbed over the edge off the ravine and onto solid ground. Setting Taria on the grass, Chris untied himself from the rope and greeted his friend.

"Thanks for the help Ale, I really appreciate it."

"No problem Chris, glad I could you in times of need." Ale said.

"But a have a question."

"Shoot partner."

"How did you know we were down there?"

"Well I didn't."

"…Then what were you doing out in the middle of nowhere? I'm not complaining I'm just curious."

Ale took a deep breath "I was just taking my pigs out on their nightly walking, that was when I heard some of them zombie moans so I went to scope out the scene. Then I found some zombies just limping into this here ravine. I thought nothing of it at the time so I just went back home. But when I woke up this morning I slapped myself in the head remembering that those little buggers would only fall off cliffs if their hungry and chasing someone. So I headed out back to this ravine and that was when I found you guys."

"Well thanks for remembering."

"No problem Captain."

"Chris is fine, Ale." He said patting Ale in the shouler.

"Sure."

After their conversation Chris with Ale following walked a couple feet over to Taria who was still sitting on the grass.

"Are you ready to go?" Chris asked

"Yeah, my leg is rea-really hurting right n-." Taria tried to say, but with a weak voice, than she passed out from the burning pain in her leg, and many other places. "Taria…? Damn it" Her leg was more swollen then before. Chris carefully picked Taria up into a bridal style and started to walk into Trenton's general direction. With Ale following.

"What wrong with her Chris? Is she Ok?"

"When I found her she was seriously injured, when I could, I patched up most of her wounds. But not all, she sustained a broken leg. I couldn't really fix that with my current recourses. I have to bring her back to Red Star for proper medical attention."

"Wow, who did this happen to her?"

"Remember the invasion of Trenton last month?"

"Yeah, that was a horri… are you saying that they have returned?" He said as his eyes widened.

"Yes they have, now they're not just coming after her, they coming for me too."

"That sucks partner. Well if you need any help I'll be around when you need it."

"Thanks for the offer but I can't have more people get in danger then there already is."

"It's no problem Chris, I've been in my own share of fights."

"I don't want you to get hurt like she did, I can't even imagine who much she has suffered. Her whole life probably being ridiculed for what she looks like, and now this. I know she's different but that is what makes her special and unique, ya know?"

"Hmm… You have feelings for her don't you?" Ale said with a smirk.

At Ale's words Chris stopped in his tracks. Chris knew he liked her a lot. Taria made him feel things that he has never for anyone before. All he wanted to do was to protect her, but something in his heart wanted to stay by her side, and love her. This was a foreign feeling to Chris, but it felt… nice.

"Chris, are you Ok?"

"Oh… Yeah I'm fine." He said losing his train of thought about his feelings toward Taria.

"So…" Ale trailed off.

"So… what?"

"Do you have feelings for her or not?"

"Yeah, I think I do."

"That's good, she's gonna need you by her side."

"Yeah."

"I'm just a sucker for love."

"I could tell." Chris said laughing.

"Hey, quit laughing." Ale said.

"Dude, I don't judge."

"Thanks."

"Come on let's get going Ale, we need to hurry up."

"Sure thing."

Chris, Ale and an unconscious Taria had finally traveled far enough to be near the edge of Trenton's dense and also large forest. Taria still hadn't awakened, Chris was hoping after they get her to some proper care that she'll be Ok. Not much had been said between Chris and Ale the rest of the way here. When they exited the forest line they were greeted by a pair of voices.

You brought her back!" A voice said

"Hurray." Another one said.

The two voices were Taria's friends: Sarah and Claire.

_"Where's Louis… He should be here." _Chris thought to himself

"Hello there ladies." Ale said trying to be smooth.

"Come on people let's go get her some help. I'm not wasting any time here." Chris said coldly.

"Ok." They all said.

The group had entered through to the doors of the Red Star Hospital, they walked past the doors and up to the front desk. Were Daniel has been sitting.

"How may I he- Whoa." He said surprised at the amount of people in front of him, plus the critically injured one.

"Can I get some help here!?" Chris said

"Calm down, there's a doctor over there." He said point to his left.

"Thank you" Chris quickly said before leaving.

"Hey doc!"

"How may I help you?" He said looking at Chris

"I have someone who's really hurt, can you help her please?"

"Uhhh… sorry sir but I am already busy with many other patients."

"But she's been badly beaten, she may not last another day… please." Chris pleaded.

"I'm sorry sir but I don't help 'their' kind here. They are monsters that plaques this planet. And as far as I'm concerned she disserved what she got." He said before he turned and started to walk away.

_"You're going to regret saying that."_ Chris thought as he narrowed his eyes.

"Ale."

"Yes?"

"Hold Taria for me I'm going to take care of something."

"Yeah… sure." He said taking Taria from Chris

_"This isn't gonna be good."_ Ale thought expecting the worst.

"What are you doing Chris?" Sarah asked Chris.

"I'll be right back." He replied avoiding her question.

Chris started to walk away from the group over to the doctor some feet away who was looking at his clipboard with various information on his patients.

"Hey doc." Chris said tapping the medical officer's shoulder. Then he turned around to see Chris.

"Oh it's you. Like I said before I'm not goi-" He was stopped mid-sentence by Chris who grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against a white wall. Receiving many gasps from others while he dropped his clipboard on the tile floor.

"W-what is the meaning of this." He asked Chris.

"Well Mr." -Chris looked at his nametag- "Nathan, you are going to take back what you said about Taria and you are going to treat her injuries."

"And if I refuse?" Nathan said.

Chris let his right hand off of him and pulled it back with the intent to punch the crap out of him. Until…

"CHRIS, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?" Yelled a familiar voice.

Chris turned his head to the right to see who yelled at him, it was Cheryl.

"Oh… hi Cheryl." Chris said nonchalantly.

"Again, what are you doing?" She said. After she said that Chris let go of the doctor, as he slid at the white tiled floor with a cough or two. Other nurses ran to Nathan's side to help him.

"Nothing." He said looking straight on her eyes with a smile on his face.

"Oooooook, may I ask what are you are doing here Chris?" She said while putting a hand on her hip.

"Oh I completely forgot, wait here." Turning around he walked away back to the others.

"Yeah, that what well." Claire said laughing a bit.

"Ale, give me Taria." Chris ordered

"Ok." –He put Taria in Chris' arms- "So… did he say yes?"

"No not really." He said with a smirk

"That guy better not be the only doctor here, I've never been here so I don't know if there is." Sarah said.

"Don't worry guys, she'll be fine. I hope." Then Chris turned and walked away and turned right going past a corner were Cheryl was still standing.

"Oh my… what happened to her?" She said hold a hand on her mouth.

"I'll tell you on the way, get a doctor or two and a gurney, but there one thing, I don't want Doctor Nathan to help."

"And why is that? I know he just joined us today but he's not that bad."

"I don't want her to die because of that incompetent asshole, he refused to help treat her when I brought it up."

"I can agree with that, from what his file said is that he doesn't have a good history with creepers. I just don't know why he can't she her as normal… Well anyway follow me." She said making gesture to follow.

"So what happened to him?" He said walking up next to her.

"One second Chris." She turned left to another nurse.

"Hey Anna can you send Doctor Max and Doctor John with a gurney and come back here?" She said to her fellow nurse.

"Yes ma'am." She responded before she walked away.

"Now we wait." Cheryl said

"So… what happened to Nathan?" He said looking confused.

"It's my liberty to say, you'll have to ask him."

"Ok." _"I'm not getting anything out of him." _Chris thought

"What happened to her though?"

"Long story short, those 'Monster Killer' guys returned with a vengeance, they took her and tortured her… and used her for bait to try to kill me to." He took a deep breath. "Well… and I saved her but she was injured badly. I did what I could for her, but it wasn't enough and she passed out from her pain and she hasn't woken up sense. And here we are now."

"Wow you did all that for her, you must really like her." She said with a big smile.

"Yeah." Chris said quietly.'

"You don't let much of your feelings out do you?"

"Didn't really have anyone to feel for until now, it's still all now to me." He said looking at Taria.

"You'll get used to it." She said while putting him on the shoulder.

"When are the others co-"

"Oh there back." Cheryl interrupted.

Walking past the corner Chris saw the two doctors and the other nurse wheeling other a metal gurney other to Chris and Cheryl.

"Could you set her down on the gurney sir?" Said Doctor Max

"Gladly." Chris' gently set her down on the gurney, then they turned around and tried to walk away until Chris put his hand on the edge of the gurney stopped them.

"If she doesn't pull though, I'm holding you two responsible." Chris said coldly with a finger pointed at Max and John. Then Cheryl put a hand on Chris' shoulder and turned him around to look at her.

"Don't fret Chris, she's in good hands."

_"She'd better be correct on that."_ Chris thought to himself

"I'll go and help Max and John with Taria, you can go in the waiting room with your friends." After saying that she walked away to the other doctors.

_"She'll be ok… I hope" _After that thought he walked to the waiting room were the others were located. Walking past the white walls of the hospital, the patients and medical staff which some of them he found familiar from his time spend here a month earlier. Taking a sharp left to the waiting room he saw the others in chairs. And Ale was taking to the two girls.

"…and that was who I found them in that ravine." He said not noticing Chris.

"Filling the girls heads with your endeavors Ale?" Chris said from behind Ale.

"Ah, Chris your back. How's the situation?" He said while Chris took a seat across from him.

"Well she's being taken care of right now." Chris said leading back in the chair.

"Well finally some good news." Sarah stated.

"I hope she'll wake up soon." Claire said.

"She'll be fine girls." Ale said to reassure them.

Chris, Ale, Sarah and Claire have been waiting for three and a half hours in the white walled room. Not much had happened since they had given Taria to the Medical Staff. On occasion they would see some horridly injured people being carried through with arrows in their bodies and slash wounds. They were wearing green cameo cloths, they must've been soldiers to protect Trenton. And if they were soldiers, why weren't they present when this town needed it most a month ago.

_"I'll have to look into this." _Chris thought

"Man, that looks like it hurts." Sarah said looking at the poor men.

"It does… I've been through it." Chris replied

"Really." Ale said surprised

"Long story short. I got caught outside at one night, don't try it you'll regret it. That was I was taken it by the hospital."

"Whoa, you must've been in here for weeks." Claire said looking at Chris.

"Yeah." Chris trailed off

It was then Cheryl finally entered the waiting room. With no emotion shown on her face, which made Chris uneasy.

"H-how Taria." Sarah asked with a frown.

"Well do you want the bad news or the good news?"

"The good news first please." Chris asked.

"She's all patched up and we have a splint in her damaged leg."

"And the bad news?" Claire asked this time.

"She's may not be may not be awake for a while."

"And how long is a while." Chris asked.

"We don't really have a clue, but what we do know is she'll probably awaken from now to a week. We may also need someone to monitor her just in case something happens." Cheryl stated

"C-can we see her." Sarah said.

"I don't see why not, follow me people." She said turning around and walking away.

"Come on guys." Chris said while sitting up out off his chair.

The group was following Cheryl through Red Star to Taria's room. Room 376. The same room which Chris had been in when he was here last month. Most likely coincidence. Cheryl pushed the door open for the others and spoke.

"You may go see her now."

"Thanks Cheryl" Chris said while him and the others moved past her and into Taria's room. She was lying in her hospital bed, and she had bandages on most of her body from some of the cuts Chris couldn't treat. Her green color had also come back to her. Chris stepped over to her and sat down in a chair to her right, and the others were standing to her left.

"I hope she'll be awake soon." Sarah said.

"We all do." Chris stated.

Two and three quarter hours later Chris still sat next to Taria. Ale had to go back home to check on his animals, and the other girls had fallen asleep in the waiting room. They told Chris that they had been up all last night worried for Taria safety. But there was one thing that got him wondering.

"_Where the hell is Louis… He may be at work but… He should be here."_

Suddenly the room door opened revealing the nurse Cheryl talked to earlier.

"Sir, is your name Chris?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" He said raising an eyebrow

"I was sent her to get you by the order of Doctor Nathan." She stated

_"I hate that guy so much." _Chris thought

"Why?" Chris said.

"He told me he wanted to apologize for the way he acted earlier this morning."

"Really… never would've thought."

"So… are you coming?" Anna said

_"Even though he is real asshole, if he wants to say he's sorry and he willing to let bygones be bygones, I'll humor him."_

"Sure, I'm coming." He said getting out off this chair and walking out of the room.

"Ok he said he'll be at the front desk, I have others things to do so I'll leave you to it." She said while taking her leave.

_"Ok front desk… I'll be there." _Chris thought

From what Chris remembered the front desk wasn't too far from Taria's room. Chris casually started walking forward until he saw one of the injured soldiers in his room with the door open. He had an arrow in his arm. And a nurse was trying to pull it out.

"AHHHH, damn that fucking hurts." He yelled

"It's in there pretty deep sir. I don't know if I can pull it out." She said frowning

Upon her words Chris entered their room and greeted them.

"Hello soldier, I think I can help with that."

"Who are yo… Oh your Chris, that guy who saved us. It's an honor sir." He said getting off his chair and saluting through his pain.

"At ease, what's your name?"

"The name's Abraham sir."

"So ma'am do you need help getting the arrow out."

"Yes please." She said sighing in relief.

Chris sat down next to the injured soldier and put his hand and the shaft of the arrow and tugged lightly.

"Yeah she was right, it is deep it there." Chris said.

"Sure is." He replied

"Ok I'm going to pull it out, be ready. Three… Two… One." After some moments with some force Chris pulled out the arrow that was embedded in his arm.

"AHHH" Abraham yelled. Blood started flowing down his arm. And the nurse quickly started aiding him.

"Thanks for the help sir." She said.

"That's quite alright. Abe may I ask you some questions?"

"Uh… sure, go ahead."

"If you're a soldier why didn't you and your squad help me defend this place a month ago?"

"Well the mayor didn't really set up some sort of defense until after that all happened, it didn't actually get up until a couple days ago. Our recruits are untrained and weak they could barely fight zombies let alone anything else. I'm just a lieutenant and our captain died a yesterday. I try to do my best to train them, but it gets really tough sometimes." He said while getting his arm bandaged by the medical officer.

"Hmm… and why do you take such responsibility as to train them?"

"Because no one else will." Abe quickly shot back.

"I have an idea." Chris stated

"And what would that be?" He replied.

"I guess I could take a look at the small army you have put together. I might help you train them as well. In your condition I don't think you could train them properly."

"Really? That would be a big help sir." He said happily

"How many soldiers do you got under your command?" Chris asked the wounded man.

"I have four platoons, twenty-four man and women in each and they divided into four squads of six each."

_"If what Abe said is true, I could train them all into perfect fighters. Then they could help me defeat Chandler later on. I hate getting help for my problems… but I can't do this alone. That bastard will die soon" _Chris thought.

"Well it was nice speaking with you, but now I have to go. I'll see what I can do about the recruitment training. But for now I bid you a-do." Chris said setting up walking to the door.

"Thanks for the offer… And taking out the arrow."

"No problem friend." He said with a slight smile before he left to go to the front desk that was some yards away. But Chris didn't see Doctor Nathan anywhere. Chris felt uneasy.

_"He's probably treating patient or something."_ Chris thought

Walked closer to the front desk he saw Daniel still sitting on his chair.

"Hey Daniel can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I was told by a nurse to come here at this spot at the request of Doctor Nathan. Do you happen to know where he is?"

"Doctor Nathan? I think he said something about checking on the patient in Room 376. Why?"

At his words Chris' eye widened and all the color in his face vanished.

_"Why would he-… Taria's room… Oh shit." _Chris thought as he turned and ran back to Taria's room. Running past Abe's room and many others while pushing staff and patients out of the way he finally stopped at her door.

_"That asshole better not be doing what I think he's doing." _He thought he said bashed Taria's room door open. Chris saw Doctor Nathan next to Taria with a syringe next to her arm, he was going to inject her with something. Chris quickly used his right hand and grabbed Nathan's wrist just before the needle touched her green skin. Then he used his left elbow and bashed Nathan's nose, breaking it. He staggered back as the dropped the syringe back Chris' caught it before it hit the ground. Chris looked at the syringe.

"Wait… there's nothing in it... THAT BASTARD." Chris thought as he picked up Nathan with his left land and pushed him against the wall across from Taria's sleeping form and put that hand around his neck, slightly chocking him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!" Chris yelled in a dark voice.

"Why should you care? She is a mon-" He was stopped as Chris put more pressure on his neck.

"Who sent you?! Chandler?" Chris questioned.

"F-fuck you." Nathan struggled to say, then he spat on Chris' face.

Chris wiped off the saliva off his face and spoke. "You know the last guy that did that is dead."

"Screw y-you." He replied.

"What was in this damn syringe?! Where you going to inject her with air?" Chris questioned. With no answer.

"If read many books in my time… And I'm pretty sure that injecting someone with air into blood stream can cause a Myocardial Infarction." **(Heart Attack)**

"That i-is correct… you insufferable twit." Nathan replied

"Why…? Why can't you see passed her looks. I'll tell you what I told you're prick of a leader. She is just as human as you or me."

"She's is a… abomina-"At this point Nathan was being strangled from the immense pressure on his neck.

"I made a promise to protect Taria from the likes you or anyone else that tries to harm her. And that's a promise I shall keep. See you in hell." Chris said as he shot Nathan in the neck with the syringe below his thumb. And sentenced him to death with a push of his thumb and injected the air into his blood stream. Chris let Nathan go as he fell to the floor holding his neck with his right hand.

"Do you know what you just do-" He was interrupted by something, he started coughing and clutching his chest.

_"The air bubble must've finally reached his heart." _Chris thought standing over Nathan. After a few moments Nathan took in his last breath and slumped on the ground. Dead by the sudden heart attack that Chris had induced.

_"An attempt was made on Taria's life today. I may not be to protect her again If they send more of their people here. And in her condition… I have to get her out of here as fast as possible, but she as a broken leg."_ Chris started thinking, then something came to mind. _"…My mutation… If she had a blood transfusion… it's a long shot, but I have to try." _Suddenly the door opened to reveal the nurse Anna. The usual smile on her face was replaced by one of terror.

"Go get Cheryl and come back here." Chris ordered

"Bu-"

"NOW!" He yelled, which scared her even more. Then she ran away.

Chris looked over to Taria's sleeping or unconscious form. She was still ok. He inspected her arms, there were no sign of a needle puncture anywhere. Chris then gave a sigh of relief. Then he sat in the chair next to. Suddenly the door was busted open, this time it was Cheryl with Anna behind her.

"What happened here?!" Cheryl said while looking at Nathan's dead body.

"I killed him." Chris quickly replied. Cheryl's eyes widened

"W-what… WHY THE FUCK WOULD YO-"

"THAT LITTLE ASSHOLE ALMOST KILLED TARIA!" Chris screamed the Cheryl as he stood up. Chris took a deep breath to calm himself down and spoke.

"He was going to inject some air into her blood stream."

"H-he's new… h-he probably didn't know wh-

"HE WAS TRYING TO INDUCE A FUCKING HEART ATTACK…! He was sent here by my enemies to kill her. Will… until I stopped him that is." He said looking at the body angrily.

"Anna, could you take the body to the morgue?" Cheryl asked her fellow nurse.

"Y-yes ma'am." Said stuttered out as she moved over the body of Nathan, fifteen seconds later Anna and the corpse was gone.

"So how did you figure out he was out for her life?"

"Hmm… where do I start? Earlier Anna came to me and said that she was told by the newly deceased Doctor Nathan to bring me to the front desk to say that he was sorry for his behavior earlier this morning, which was a total lie. And I fell for it. I went up to the front desk… But Nathan was nowhere to be seen. Then Daniel told me he was going to Room 376… this room." He finished while pointing at the floor

"…" Cheryl was still silent

"I booked it back here and found Nathan next to Taria. Syringe in hand. I stopped him and questioned him for a bit… Then I stabbed him in the neck with it and… pushed the air in his blood stream. A few moments later he had a heart attack and died."

"Wow." She was speechless.

"This also reminded me of something." Chris said.

"What?"

"Taria is still in danger here… And so is everyone else. My enemies may send more guys here to try to kill us again, I have to get her out of her as soon as I can."

"But she has a broken leg." Cheryl said.

"I need you to do me a favor." Chris said walking up to her.

"W-what would that be?" Cheryl asked.

"What I'm planning is a long shot… but …"

"What?"

"Both me and Taria have A type blood… I need you to get a doctor to give Taria a blood transfusion."

"Why?"

"…My…mutation. The one you had witnessed yourself a month ago. Whatever it is, Hereditary or not, it's in my blood. If I give her some her body may accept it and heal her injures faster. The faster the better, If we wait for her to heal manually… they may send more soldiers to come and try kill us, and they may succeed. I can't have that, others may be put in danger, or worse… killed."

Cheryl was silent for a couple second before she spoke.

"There are many variables you're not considering here but…Ok… If that is what you think is best… come with me." She said as she left with Chris following

Two and a half minutes later they were outside Doctor John's office.

"Are you sure you want to do this Chris?" Cheryl asked.

"Yeah… I'm sure." He responded. When they entered his office they greeted him. And they explain the situation to John about what happened to Nathan. About Chris' mutation and his proposal for a blood transfusion.

"Well I'm glad the Nathan is gone… I wouldn't want a guy like that in my ranks. And this blood transfusion… Hmm… I'll do it."

"Ok, good." Chris said.

"Ok… follow me." John stated as he sat up.

"But there's one thing."

"What?" John said.

"I don't want you to have any samples of my blood here, my enemies somehow can get any piece of information from this town. I think they may have an insurgent in Trenton. If they their hands on it… there is no telling what they might do. And If you keep a blood sample here without my permission I will come after you." Chris finished his last sentence with a cold stare.

"Is that a threat?" John sternly asked.

"No… It's a promise." Chris said as he and the others left the office.

An hour and twenty minutes later Chris was located in Room 376. The procedure was a success, now Chris has to monitor her for any changes if her body didn't reject the blood he gave her. He was still sitting next to Taria as he looked out of the window as the sun was nearing the horizon. But over the course of the day there was only one thing that was on his mind.

_"Where the hell is Louis?!"_

Chris quickly woke up in the chair he was sitting in for the past many hours. The sun was still shining high in the sky. Which means he must've slept at some point.

_"Hmm… must've dosed off." _Chris thought as he stood up from the wooden chair. Chris looked back to Taria. She looked like she was just sleeping. He touched her broken leg. The bones didn't move around and stayed where they should be.

_"The transfusion must've been a success… Now she just has to wake up."_

"Hey, Taria… wake up." Chris said close to her face. But no response came from through her lips.

_"All her injuries are healed… She should be awake." _Chris thought with a little worry.

"Taria…?" He said as he cupped her left cheek with as right hand hoping that his touch would wake her from her slumber. But it had failed. Chris moved closer and planted a sweet kiss on her forehead. Backing away from her he walked to the door. Chris turned to look at Taria once more before he exited the room, and started walking away.

_"I'll find a way to wake up Taria soon… but I have to find Louis and tell him the good news."_ Chris thought trying to find the exit. That was until he was stopped by Cheryl who had a smile on her face.

"Hello Chris, you're awake." Cheryl said happily.

"Morning Cheryl, I kinda dosed off in Taria's room."

"By the way, how is Taria?" Cheryl said.

"The blood transfusion was a complete success but…"

"But… what?"

"She still hasn't woken up yet, at this point in time I am really worried for her."

"She'll be fine, I assure you."

"I hope so." Chris said with a faint voice.

"So what are you going to do Chris?"

"I'm going out to find Taria's father and tell him that Taria Is back here and that she is safe."

"Well good luck to you Chris." Cheryl said as she walked away to check on the other patients. Back on has train of thought he continued walking for a few minutes until he the double door exit some feet away and walked over to it. But before he could open it himself, the doors already flew opened revealing Sarah and Claire as they entered Red Star and saw Chris in front of them.

"Hi Chris." Both said walking up to him.

"Hello girls." He said waving a hand to them.

"Good morning… How's Taria?" Sarah said anxiously.

"You'll need to see to believe. Follow me." Chris said as he left with the others following him. Four minutes later the group made it to Taria's room.

"She looks so… How do I say this?" Sarah said.

"Not injured?" Claire finished.

"Yeah that's it."

"If your girls are wondering, I got a Doctor to give Taria a blood transfusion. The purpose of it was to give her some of my blood." Chris stated.

"Why?" Both asked.

"For a reason that I can't explain… I have a… some sort of mutation. This mutation gives my cells to ability to replicate at an inhuman speed, and heal injuries. So I gave her some of my blood."

"Why would you need to do that?" Sarah asked with slight confusion.

"The Doctor by the name of Nathan tried to induce a heart attack in Taria, which I prevented. And I realized something after that little skirmish, Taria and everyone are still in danger here. So I ordered a blood transfusion. And now she's all healed, But she still won't wake up. I'm still hoping that she'll waken soon so we can get out of here." Chris said.

"And what of Nathan?" Claire asked.

"Dead, I injected air into his blood stream. The air reached his heart… And he died of a heart attack moments after." He said as he stood up and stepped over to the door.

"Where are you going? Taria needs us now more than ever." Claire said getting Chris' attention.

"I'm going to find Louis and bring him here… He needs to be here to." He said as he was about to leave

"WAIT" Both girls yelled.

"What is it." He said raising an eye brow

"I wouldn't bother going to find him." Sarah said with a low tone.

"Why not? What happened?" He said with a stern voice.

"H-he died of a heart attack when you were searching for Taria." Claire said with a lone tear fell from her face.

"W-wh… how did this hap-"

"L-Louis is… d-dead." Whimpered a voice to Chris' right. He and the two girls turned their heads to see that Taria has awakened. But a few moments later Taria broke down in tears knowing that her adoptive father is now deceased. Sarah and Claire were trying to comfort her, but it didn't help.

_"Goddamn it! I try my best… To save everyone, I'm useless. I'M FUCKING USELESS" _Chris thought sadly as a tear drop fell from his face to the floor.

**Hope you people liked it. **

**I've also noticed I made a big mistake, I haven't been doing much character description. (Not really my strong point K) So I typed up the Bio and stuffs of some of the characters in the story so far, just click on my account and you'll see it. **

**Speaking of characters, in the next chapter or so I may put many more of them in. And I thought it would be cool if you viewers could submit an OC off your own. If you do, just tell me in the review or in a private message. (Which ever you choose) You would also have to give me your OC information. (Hair color, eye color, how tall, what gender they are, good or evill, personality, and so on.) And you'll have to sign your name (or some other signature) giving me rights to them and to what happens to them in the story plot. And again thanks for reading. :D**

**Oh and one more thing… Remember to review! :3**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Sadness and Confessions…**

Chris, Sarah and Claire were all sitting in the waiting room, very patiently, well at least the two girls. Chris' mind was restless, all he wanted to do was make Taria feel better about the whole thing, even though the situation looked bad, that's all he wanted to do, he couldn't think about anything else. Soon after Taria had found out that her beloved adoptive father had passed away, she wanted to be left alone in her hospital room for time to think. An hour had passed in stony silence and she was still in there, grieving and crying for her dead father. Chris didn't know what to do to make her feel better, he's lost his parents before… but he didn't even get to know them enough to feel sad about it, he wouldn't be able to relate to her and help her through this. Chris sighed and rested his hand on his hands. But at that moment, a question popped in Chris head.

"Hey uh…. Girls?" Chris started, looing up at the two sisters.

"Yes." Both replied.

"Umm… How did you two find out that Louis was dead?" Chris asked halfheartedly.

The two girls looked at eachother, both having a sympathetic look, probably remember how he found it dead body. The two sighed and looked at Chris again.

"…Many hours after you went out to search for Taria. Sarah and I went to Louis' house to talk to him... We're going to try to help him though this situation, we're going to keep him company while until you brought Taria back. But, when we arrived and saw his house, the door seemed to be bashed open. Many of his belongings were on the floor and broken..." Claire said, trying to hold back her tears. Sarah patted her sister on the back. Sarah decided to continue the story for her sister.

"We searched the place for him, with no real results, until we checked the kitchen. We we're horrified when we found him on the ground in the kitchen. We tried called for help, but he was dead when we found him. The doctors arrived some time later, and after examining the body, they said he died of a heart attack." Sarah finished said with sadness pouring through her features.

_"He died of a heart attack?!"_ Chris thought. Maybe he didn't die of natural causes… Maybe he was murdered. Chris stood up from his chair and walked over to the others and sat next to them.

"…Did any of you two ever get a chance to observe the body closely?" Chris questioned sternly.

"Yeah, but not that long, why?" Sarah asked, trying to wipe the tears from her sister's face.

"Did any of you see any sort of puncture hole in his neck or arms?" He said. "I have to know, it's very important."

"No… I don't think so… Oh wait, on second thought, I think I saw a tiny hole in the right side of his neck, it looked like a liver spot or a mole, but when we looked closer it was a tiny hole." Sarah confirmed.

"Did the doctor say it was a natural heart attack?" Chris asked, leaning toward the two.

"Y-yeah… T-they said it was probably from too much stress… Why? D-do you think something else came into play?" Claire said.

"… With how things happened earlier, with that Nathan guy… The time these things happened is just too out of place…" Chris murmured while rubbing his chin, making the sisters give him a questioning look.

"What's out of place?" Sarah asked.

"…And who's Nathen, darling?" Claire questioned.

"Hmm… I don't think Louis died of natural causes. I think he was murdered." Chris began, hearing a surprised gasp from the girls "…And I assume it was the work of the asshole, Nathan. He killed Louis when I was gone and his next target was Taria when we arrived. Until I stopped him dead in his tracks…" Chris finished angrily. Chris is still relived to know that Taria will be ok for the time being. He was glad that he stopped that mad man before he killed Taria.

"He was murdered…? Well that explains the struggle in his house." Sarah quivered, crossing her legs.

"And, Chris darling? Who is that Nathan fellow that you spoke so ill of earlier?" Claire asked intently. Chris sighed and leaned back into his sat, looking up at the ceiling.

"…I think he was some sort of assassin. It seems he was sent here to kill Taria and her father… Good thing I stopped him, at least we still have Taria." Chris said as he sighed.

_"He speaks so highly of Taria, almost like he likes her, a lot…"_ Claire pondered.

"I was thinking… Whenever Taria is ready to leave we could bring her to Louis' grave. It may make her feel better." Claire blurted. "Or worse, I don't know…"

"…Maybe…" Both Chris and Sarah said. Chris sighed and closed his eyes, beginning to wait…

The next couple hours were spent in complete and total silence between the three. And the anxiety in Chris was growing. He wondered if she was ever going to leave her room, he wondered that she was ok. Losing a parent takes a toll on your heart, that least that's what Chris read about. He just wanted to help Taria though this. But his thoughts were put to a dead stop as Ale bursted through the hospital doors. Chris turned his head to see him, and then continued to stare at the ceiling. Within moments, Ale walked over the others and spoke.

"Hello everyone..." He said happily.

"Hi." Both Sarah and Claire said, but Chris stayed silent and sighed. Ale had noticed this and stepped closer to his friend.

"…Something the matter, Chris?" Ale asked. "I've seen that look on your face before, what's wrong?"

"No… it's just… I'm just thinking." Chris replied, rubbing his temples.

"Hmm… Anyway, how's Taria doing? I heard a doctor died in her room, what happened?" Ale said to anyone.

"…More like murdered in Taria's room…" Chris grumbled.

"What? Do know something about this, Chris?" Ale asked, surprised.

"There was an assassin posing as a doctor… I think you can figure out the rest." Chris replied solemnly.

"You killed him?" Ale questioned and Chris nodded. "Did he do anything to her before you kill him?" Chris shook his head.

"Good." Ale said happily.

"…She's awake right now." Sarah stated cheerfully.

"That's good." He replied back to her.

"She's ready to leave now, but, she need time to think about things." Claire said.

"About…? What happened?" Ale said with a eye brow raised.

"…" She stayed quiet.

"Louis was murdered." Chris said suddenly and calmly. "By the same guy that was going to try to killer her in her sleep." Hearing this made Ale's eyes widen in surprise.

"…Damn, that sucks for her, he was her last family that she knew." He said halfheartedly.

"…Louis was one that took her in… She was like a daughter to him... It's all my fault, I-I should've been faster when bringing Taria back…" Chris replied in a saddened voice.

"I'm sure Louis would've wanted you to go rescue her anyway, he wouldn't want you to think that." Sarah quickly said to her saddened friend as she put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"B-but, T-Taria never got the chance to say goodbye. Neither did Louis. I fell so hollow inside knowing that. It hurts my heart, it feels like my guilt is eating me from the inside-out." Chris spoke as a tear started to roll down his face. Ale decided to cheer his friend up a bit.

"If Louis had a choice for you to stay and protect him but lose Taria, he would still want to save her, he wouldn't doubt your choice. He's probably up there in heaven right now saying thanks for saving her first." Ale said trying to make Chris feel better, which succeeded a bit, but not a lot.

"…T-Thank you, Ale." Chris said, wiping the tear from his face.

"…So, when is Taria ready to go?" Ale asked

"Don't know, she's been in there for hours." Sarah inquired, slumping back into her chair.

"So… we wait?" He said

"Yeah, we'll wait for as long as he need to." Chris answered.

(\/\/\/\/\/\/\/)

The group of four had been waiting for another thirty-five minutes and Taria still wasn't out yet. At this point the anxiety that Chris had possessed is at its breaking point. As much as Chris wanted to let Taria have her space, his legs desperately wanted to move and go to her. A battle raged in Chris' mind, and a few moments later, Chris' urge to go see her won the battle. Chris quickly sat up from his chair and started walking down the hall.

"Hey, where you going?" Ale asked. But, Chris decided to ignore his friend for the time being and continued to walk down the hall to Taria's room. But has he turned a corner he bumped into sometime, that someone was Taria. She was wearing normal cloths. She wore a long striped green scarf, and a long green dress. She looked beautiful, at least to Chris.

_"Cheryl must've given those to her." _He thought

"Oh, s-sorry Chris, I-I didn't see you there." She said, blushing.

"That's ok Taria. So, you're finally out, that's good." Chris replied.

"Yeah, sorry about that Chris, I had a long conversation with Cheryl." Taria explained sheepishly.

"So… did she explain to you about what happened while you were asleep here?" He asked.

"Yeah, she did." The green woman replied halfheartedly.

"The attempt on your life…" Chris began.

"Yes." She stated.

"…And the blood transfusion…?" Chris continued.

"Yeah, she told me everything." She said looking into his eyes.

"Ok… are you ready to get going?" Chris asked.

"Y-yeah let's go." Taria replied with a bashful smile.

The couple started walking back toward the waiting room, where the others have been sitting in for the last couple hours. Chris was relieved to know that Taria was ready to go and that she was healthy to do it, but would she be ready to go to her father's grave?

"Hey, Chris?" Taria began, not making eye contact.

"Yeah… What is it?" Chris replied happily.

"T-Thanks for uh… saving me back there… It would've desvastated the sisters even more if I died with my dad."

"No problem, Taria." Chris replied, making Taria blush. Within a couple moments, the two had finally stepped into the waiting room.

"Taria!" Both sisters exclaimed as they stood up, and ran over and hugged Taria fiercely.

"Hi girls, sorry I've been keeping you waiting." Taria said happily to her friends.

"It's fine. We're just glad you're ok, darling." Claire stated cheerily, hugging Taria even tighter.

"So are you ready to go Taria?" Sarah asked, releasing herself from the hug.

"Yeah, I-I'm ready." She stuttered out. After the cheerful reunion, the group turned around and began to walk towards the hospital's front doors. Now they can finally leave this place, Chris didn't want to spend another second in there. After they exited through the front doors, everyone except for Taria turned left toward the old graveyard, this confused Taria greatly.

"…Hey, uh… guys, my house is the other way." She said pointing in her home's direction. Her statement made them look at each other. Wondering if taking Taria to her adoptive father's grave site was still a good idea.

"Uh… we were actually going to Louis' grave. We thought…" Sarah trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"…We thought it might give you some closure, if we brought you to his grave." Chris finished her sentence, which mad Taria fell silent for some moments.

"O-ok… let's go then…." Taria agreed, moving past the others, soon enough the others started to follow her.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Moving through town to get to the graveyard site didn't really take that long. The only obstacle was the large amount of oak trees surrounding the graveyard, and the tall iron bared fence. Which, somehow, Ale had a key to it, this proved to be a question from Chris that was never answered to. But he just shrugged it off and sighed. Soon enough, Ale unlocked the fence and the they entered the graveyard.

"So… does anyone know were Louis' grave site is?" Chris asked the group, rubbing the back of head.

"I DO!" Both Sarah and Claire shouted as they pointed to a grave a couple feet to the group's right. They all turned and walked over to the grave. It had some text on it: Louis Myers. Co-founder of Trenton, may he rest in peace, and bless his soul for all he's done for the people. He was a good man.

_"I didn't know that Louis helped build Trenton. Wow, who would've thought…"_ Chris thought, rubbing his chin.

"So… here's Louis." Ale said, gesturing toward the gravestone.

Looking at her adoptive father's grave, Taria's bottom lip began to quiver, then she fell to her knees and started to sob into her hands. Seeing this, Chris bent down on one knee and put his right arm around her in an attempt to comfort her.

"Everyone keeps dying around me." She said quietly with tears fell to the ground from in-between her fingers. Chris rapped his other arm around her to give her a heartwarming hug. At that moment, she began to cry loudly into his shoulder, returning the hug. Looking at them, Ale thought of something.

_"Hmm… THIS IS THE PERFET MOMENT FOR THEM!" _He thought as he put his plan into action.

"Hey uh… girls can you help me find something?" Ale asked the two sisters. The two looked at him for a quick moment and replied.

"Sure." They both replied quickly. Ale began to walk away, with the two sisters following close behind. The three left with Ale trying to find something that never existed, leaving Chris and Taria alone at Louis' grave. Chris wasn't too sure why Ale took the girls and left, but, he didn't want to think about them, right now he was focused on Taria.

"Are you ok, Taria?" Chris asked, letting go of her, but he kept his hands on her shoulders. He looked into her eyes and waited for her answer.

"…Everyone I care for always dies when they're near me." She said softly.

"…T-that's not true."

"Yes it is." Taria replied. "M-my biological parents… then my adoptive one. They're all dead because of me. I might as well give myself up, so no one else has to die…" She said emotionlessly.

"Quit saying shit like that, Taria." He said halfheartedly.

"…B-but I care about you the most, Chris… I-I don't want to l-lose you…" She sobbed out.

"…You won't…" Chris sighed as pulled her into another hug.

"…Y-you promise?" Taria asked.

"Yeah, I'll never leave you. I'll protect you with my life." He said as she became flustered.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Taria stated.

"I've kept you from harm all this time, didn't I?" Chris replied.

"Yeah… B-but why would you want to protect someone like me? I not special in any way, I'm just going to get you killed… I'm no good, I'm just r-repulsive creature…" Taria said, crestfallen. Chris couldn't believe was she was saying right now, she just called herself a repulsive creature. At the moment, she might've thought of as such, but Chris thought completely different.

"…Taria, you shouldn't care what other people think or say of you. You're anything but repulsive, Taria." Chris began.

"I'm… I'm n-not?" She said slowly looking up at Chris, into his eyes.

"You're a caring, gentle, kind, an intelligent and a very… very beautiful woman." Chris started as Taria's blush deepened. "…And I don't want you to think about yourself like that, a person like you doesn't deserve it. You're not a repulsive creature, Taria. You've just been dealt a bad hand. But, whatever is on the outside, doesn't change who you are on the inside." Chris finished, cupping the side of her face with his right hand. She blushed furiously from his touch and his assuring words.

"But, I feel so alone with Louis gone. He raised me like I was his own, even though I was different." She said as her sobbing continued.

"You still have Sarah… Claire… Ale… and Me." He took a deep breath. "You know, believe it or not I was left alone in this world too." He said.

"W-what?" She said, her lip quivering.

"My own parents abandoned me at some god-forsaken orphanage, just shy of one year old. I spent thirteen years in that hell hole. I know what it fells little to be left alone and without any real purpose, Taria. Both of us are alone in this world. But… we can be alone in this cruel world together." He said, slowly putting a hand on hers.

"That last part doesn't make sense." She said.

"It doesn't have to." He replied

"After I found out my parents left me, it hurt me deeply. I'm not sure if they couldn't afford to keep me around or if they just didn't want me. I sealed up my emotions and feelings deep inside so I won't get hurt like that again." He said, much to Taria's displeasure.

"But… you started making me feel again…" Chris said.

She looked up at him surprised, but a second later, she dipped her head back down again looking at Louis' grave, continuing to sob.

_"She's not accepting what I'm trying to tell her, what should I do…?" _He thought.

A voice deep down inside Chris told him that action spoke louder than words, maybe doing something rather than saying something. Chris decided to do what his gut told him to, even If his brain told him not to. He started to lean closer to her, hoping that what he's about to do will help.

"C-Chris… w-what are you do-" She was cut off by Chris pressing his lips against hers in a passionate kiss. Chris felt Taria's body stiffen, and he feared the she would push away from him, but surprisingly she relaxed and threw her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. And the tongue battle had started, then Taria leaned in to deepen the kiss but her body weight pushed Chris to ground on his back, but it didn't stop them from exploring each other's mouths. Chris suddenly rotated Taria on her back and tightened his grip on her hips and started sucking on her lower lip which made her give a loud moan into his mouth. Chris' right hand moved his hand upwards and gently cupped her left breast, creasing and massaging it. "Ahh…! Mmm… Chris… Ah…" She said moaning louder. The making out grew more passionate which made them forget about themselves, for now it was just them in this moment and nobody else. They even forgot the possibility of the others could be watching them right now. Chris' hands explored Taria's sides as the kissing deepened even further. Within the next few moments, the two broke the kiss from lack of oxygen and both started breathing heavily.

"T-that was… uhhh…" She tried to say, trying to calm herself down, but her heart continued to beat out of her control, she never know Chris would do such a thing. And what's even weirder is that she… liked it, what he kissed her, no other man would ever think about doing that.

"…Spontaneous?" Chris finished

"Y-yeah, you could say that, I guess." She said as she sat back up, her face still flustered from the heated kiss that accord just a few moments ago.

_"I really hope that wasn't too soon."_ Chris thought anxiously.

"Uh… Chris?" She suddenly spoke.

_"I really hope it wasn't" _

"Yeah?" Chris said, looking back at her.

"Did you mean… w-what you said earlier?" She asked sheepishly.

"Of course I did, Taria. Every word… and every action." He replied, resting a hand on hers.

"B-but why me… I-I'm just… a monst-." She was cut off again by a gentle and quick kiss on her lips, which made her blush and stutter again.

"The woman I uhh… l-love is anything but… just…" Chris said, causing Taria's eyes to widen. "…Love is still a new feeling to me but, right now, that is what I'm feeling for you…" Chris sighed. "I've never said this before, but… I love you… I love you, very deeply…"

_"Did Chris really just say that… h-he loves me?" _Taria thought, her face heating up again, her attitude changing from a crestfallen one to a happily one.

"Other people are just jealous because you are different, you're human in my eyes, but to theirs you're different. All the people in the human population all over the world look almost exactly the same, but you're not. And that's want they envy… they envy change… They make fun of you because they're insecure about themselves and what they look like."

"B-but I'm not really human." She said.

"You're human to me." He said putting a hand on her left cheek. At his statement Taria's eyes widened, then they started to water.

"Please don't cry Taria, it hurts me to watch you cry…" He said, wiping the tears from her face.

"These are tears of joy, Chris." Taria stated happily.

"Oh."

"I'm just glad that…" She trailed off. "I love you too." She said as she gave him a hug.

"Really?" Chris asked.

"Yes, Chris. You've been there for me… You've taken care of me, and even said that you loved me… I-I love you too, Chris… with all my heart." She said planting another kiss on his lips.

"Awww, you two look so cute together!" Sarah and Claire squealed standing some feet in front of Chris and Taria.

(/\/\/\/\/\/\/) **(EARILER)**

"Hey uh… girls can you help me find something." Ale asked Claire and Sarah.

"Sure." They both replied. Soon they left with Ale.

"So what are we trying to find Ale?" Sarah asked.

"Nothing." He said as he turned around to face to two.

"I'm confused." Claire said.

"I figured we could give Chris and Taria some alone time." He said with a smirk, confusing the two sisters.

"But, why should we do th- OHHH." Claire said while blushing a bit.

"But I've known Taria for a long time, she's too shy to do anything but a hug." Sarah stated.

"Only time will tell." Ale said, chuckling.

"All this is getting me excited, I'm going to watch them from this bush." Claire said jumping behind the bush.

"Come on Claire give them some privacy." Ale said.

"I'm watching to." Sarah rushed behind the bush with her friend.

Ale gave the pepping toms a stern look

"Hey don't look at us like that, we just want to know what happens between them." Sarah said quietly so she won't disturb Taria and Chris. Ale finally gave up and squatted next to the others. They waited for an entire minute but nothing happened. Ale was starting to think his effort to get them alone was in vain.

"Hey Ale, Sarah look." Claire said suddenly. Chris and Taria's face were moving closer.

_"Come on Chris, I know you have it in you."_ He thought.

"C-Chris… what are you do-" Soon she was silenced by his kiss. Then Chris fell on his back with Taria on top of him.

"Awww." Both girls said.

"There ya go my boy, I know you had it in you." Ale stated. Then Chris moved Taria on her back and continued kissing, at that point the others couldn't really see what they were doing. Until they heard Taria moan, which made the girls faces go red.

"S-should we stop them if they go too far?" Sarah asked. Then they heard Taria moan again, then they faintly heard her say his name in ecstasy.

"Don't know." Ale said, chuckling more.

"I think we should." Sarah said.

"They look their sitting back up." Claire said. Then they started talking, they were far away and their speaking was faint but they could still hear.

"That was… uhhh…" She tried to say.

"Spontaneous?" Chris said.

"You could say that again." Sarah said.

"Yeah you could say that." She said as she sat back up.

"Uh… Chris?" She said.

"Yeah?" Chris replied.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?"

"Of course I did, Taria. Every word… and every action."

"Aww, that's sweet." Claire said.

"B-but why me… I-I'm just… a monst-." She was cut off again by Chris planting gentle kiss on her lips.

"The woman I uhh… love is anything but… just… Love is still a new feeling to me but, right now, that is what I'm feeling for you…" Chris sighed. "I've never said this before, but… I love you… I love you, very deeply…"

"Yay, he finally said it!" Both girls squealed.

"Other people are just jealous because you are different, you're human but different. All the people in the human population all over the world look almost exactly the same, but you're not. And that's want they envy. They make fun of you because they're insecure about themselves and what they look like."

"Wow." They all said from behind the bush.

"But I'm not really human." She said.

"You're human to me." He said putting a hand on her left cheek.

Taria's eyes widened at his statement, and then she started crying again.

"Please don't cry Taria, it hurts me to watch you cry." He said wiping the tears from her face.

"These are tears of joy Chris."

"Oh."

"I'm just glad that…" She trailed off. "I love you too." She said as she gave him a hug.

"Really?"

"Yes, with all my heart." She said planting a kiss on his cheek. Then the others decided to walk out and over to Chris and Taria, who they haven't noticed.

"Awww, you two look so cute together." Sarah and Claire squealed standing some feet in front of the couple.

(\/\/\/\/\/\/\/) **(PRESENT)**

"Uhh… h-how long have you been w-watching us?" An embarrassed Taria asked.

"We saw everything." Sarah said happily. Then Chris frowned and facepalmed.

"Some friends you are." Taria deadpanned. Soon after Chris stood up his sitting position and offered a hand to Taria, which she accepted.

"C-can we leave now." Taria asked.

"Sure." Chris replied.

Chris stood up and gave Taria his hand. She gladly accepted his hand, and with his help, she stood up with Chris. Soon after, the group left the graveyard without another word. Until Chris walked up next to Ale.

"You spied on us… I want to know why?" Chris asked in a low and threatening voice.

"Wasn't my fault, the others were doing it..." Ale began. "…Anyway, congratulations on your first romantic scenario." He said trying to change the subject.

"How do you know it's my first?" Chris asked.

"I can tell…" Ale replied.

"Ha-ha, sure you can." Chris said, laughing. _"How did he know that?"_

Behind the two men, the other two girls decided to stay little bit behind from the others so that they can talk to Taria.

"So…" Sarah trailed off.

"So... what?" Taria replied.

"… How was it?" Sarah said with a smile on her face.

"What?" Taria asked.

"How was Chris, darling?" Claire asked, making Taria's face change to a darker color.

"He was uhh…" She stuttered trying to say the right words.

"Don't pester Taria too much, Claire." Claire said.

"He was amazing." Taria blurted.

"What?" They both said surprised.

"He is… uh different. I think I love him." Taria said. "He's just such a… I-I can't explain it with words."

"You think?" Sarah replied to Taria with a raised eyebrow

"You shouldn't think about love my dear. Just go with it. He loves you deeply. And he probably didn't think about kissing you. His emotions and feelings probably drove him to do that. And from his expression during it looks like he didn't regret it." Claire said.

"Ok girls. I know that I love him." She replied wholeheartedly.

"And don't turn that kind of feeling away my dear, doing so would be just dreadful." Claire said, pulling Taria into a heartwarming hug.

(\/\/\/\/\/\/\/)

"Sir, we some more bad news." Mat said, entering Chandler's office.

"What is it this time?" Chandler said, turning around in his chair to face him.

"One of our newly trained assassin had killed Louis a-" Mat started.

"Isn't that a good thing, where is he now?" Chandler said, interrupting the assassin.

"Let me finish sir, Nathan posed as a doctor and killed Louis when Chris went to rescue the freak, when he brought her back, he almost killed her too, but Chris found out his rouse before he could." The assassin finished, making the captain of the Monster Hunters sigh.

"Dead, right?" Chandler questioned.

"Sadly, yes" The assassin answered.

"Damn it! Chris is really starting to piss me off!" The captain exclaimed.

"What shall I do sir?" Mat asked, bowing.

"I want to stop Chris in his tracks before he does any more damage to our cause, hmm... I want you to gather all the man we have and tell them to meet me at the grand hall." Chandler said, standing up from his chair.

"…Sir?"

"Just do it."

"Yes sir." He said as he turned and left.

(\/\/\/\/\/\/)

In the Grand Hall many men were told to wait in their wooden chairs. The hall was a large square room being illuminated by glow stone hanging from the ceiling. There were iron doors in the ends of the rooms and balcony's twenty feet over the men's heads. In the balcony's there were armored soldiers with their bows in hands, ready to strike at a moment's notice. In front of the small army was a stage, were Chandler had been standing waiting for all of his men to arrive. With them all in their seats Chandler spoke.

"Do you guys know why you are here?" He said as he received a large number of head shaking.

"Well as you all know that our alpha team was eliminated, by a man named Chris. He has also taken one of my assassin's arms, and also a newly trained assassin by the name of Nathan, he had so much potential. He has taken a lot from us. Just to protect one monster that should rightfully be dead." Chandler announced.

"Yeah!" Shouted most of the men.

"He has really ticked me off, so in one weeks time. I will lead a campaign to Trenton. Our objective is to destroy Trenton, kill Chris and the monster that they are harboring." After the captain said that, one of the men in the crowd spoke up.

"Destroy Trenton? Doesn't that go against what we stand for? We are trying to help the human race not disrupt it." The man ushered. The rest of the crowd set its gaze to Chandler, waiting for an answer.

"This will be an example to others, not to mess with us. Now sit down Markus, anymore outbursts like that and I'll hang you." After that Markus sat down in his seat as told.

"Now that's resolved, do any of you have any questions?" Chandler asked. One man stood up and spoke.

"How many of us are you sending?" He asked.

"Almost all of us." Chandler replied. At his statement most of the men went wide eyed, way would he send an entire army to do something so little.

"W-why?" Another man asked.

"Chris has made a fool of us for the last time. We will end him once and for all. Anymore questions?" He said, but no reply.

"Good. Now, get everything ready, we leave in a week." Just as he said that a man by the name of Markus had already left before anyone else has.

(\/\/\/\/\/\/)

Ale and the other girls had already moved to their homes, it was just Chris and Taria walking through the streets of Trenton. Chris was walking her safely back to her home, even though she assured that she didn't need him to do that, he felt better if he was there to watch over her. Not much had been said between the two, either they were too embarrassed to say anything, especially because of what happened in the graveyard, or they didn't feel the need. Within the next few minutes, the two finally stood outside Taria's house door. She opened it and walked in.

"See you again sometime?" She said, turning to him.

"Definitely." Chris replied happily.

"I love you, see you later." She said as she closed the door. Chris stood there for a few more seconds until he started to turn around. He was still surprised that things went so well, Chris thought that the moment the two shared in the graveyard would've ended in disaster. Chris wanted to tell her that he loved her, and he was also relived that she felt the same why. Chris felt his heart-rate increase again. He never thought any woman, especially one as beautiful as her, would love him the way he loves her. Chris sighed as he began to walk away from Taria's home.

_"Now that's taken care of, now where is Abraham?" Chris pondered._

"CHRIS!" Someone called out. He turned around to see the man he was looking for. He still had bandages on his arm. He must've left the hospital before he should've. He also had a friend. He looked to be in his twenties. He had blue eyes and brown hair. Stood at 5'8 and he was working an outfit with the enemy's insignia. A skull and bloody cross swords, which set Chris off, why is a Monster Hunter soldier here?

"What is it, Abe? And who are you." He asked Abe's friend.

"This is my informant, Markus." Abraham started, gesturing to his friend. "He just told me that Chandler is planning all-out war. He is coming here in a week with all of his men to destroy this village, and kill you, and Taria." Chris' blood started boiling.

"What do you want me to do about it? I'm just one man." Chris said. Chris still couldn't understand why he would send his entire army to do such thing.

"I know that, so that is why we have to train my soldiers as fast as we can." Abraham said. Chris stayed silent.

"Will you help us?" Markus asked.

"Absolutely, anything to keep this town safe." Chris replied.

(\/\/\/\/\/\/\/)

Markus and Abraham led Chris to the outskirts of the dense forest, but there was nothing out here. Why would these two lead him this far out and lead him to nothing?

"Is this were your base is, we're out in the middle of nowhere." Chris said looking in random directions.

"That's what we want our enemies to think." Abe said. He walked over to a near bush and moved it to the side revealing a hidden lever.

"A lever? I don't see anything out here. What is a switch going to do?" Chris asked.

"Ah Chris, I that you would have a more open mind." Markus replied. Then Abraham pulled the lever down, the ground started moving. The ground behind them all started to part revealing some stairs going down.

"A lever… connected to a Redstone circuit, attached to pistons?" Chris said.

"There you go, smart boy" Abraham replied.

"Ok, ready to go Chris?" Markus said.

"Yeah let's go, we don't have time to waste." After that the group headed downs the cobblestone stairs. Markus then pressed a wooden button which closed the entrance behind them. Stepping down more stairs the group saw a light. Moving closer Chris saw a large room, the walls, floor and ceiling were made out of cobblestone. Many tables and chairs place in rows, and a wooden door in each side of the room. Torches were placed around the room lighting every inch of the room.

"So, here we are." Abe said walking to a chair and sitting in it.

"Where is everyone?" Chris asked.

"They all should be asleep. Most of our guys sleep all day. It's hard to get 'em all to start training in the morning."

"Well… can we get them all up and start training again. And soon, we only have a week you know." Chris said.

"I'll do that Chris you guys just stay here." Markus said before he left and opened a door walking past it.

"So how's the arm?"

"It's doing better, but still hurts a lot." Abe replied.

"How's Taria?" He asks.

"She's uh… fine." He said while blushing. He was thinking about the romantic moment he had shared with her at the graveyard, he couldn't get that moment out of his head.

"Hmm… that's good to hear." Then suddenly Markus opened a door and walked back over to them.

"So did you wake them?" Abe asked his informant.

"A few, I ordered them to wake the others and go to the meeting room."

"Ok we have a few minutes. Let's go." Abe said as he stood up and left and the others followed. Soon they entered another large room. Expect this room had wooden walls and a stone ceiling and floor.

"Now we wait for the others." Abe said.

Then they waited and waited and waited. Soon an hour has passed, Chris was pissed off by the soldiers unprofessionalism.

"When are they coming?" Chris asked.

"Don't know, we have a lot of people. Their probably still waking up everyone." Markus inquired.

"Well we don't have much time to waste here." Chris replied.

Much more time has passed as they waited for their soldiers, another hour and a half. Then one soldier had entered the meeting room.

"Hello there my fellow warrior, come." Abe said. Then he started moving over into Chris vision. He was very young, about fifteen or sixteen years old.

_"Too young for war, but I guess I can't change that." _Chris thought to himself. He was about 5'9 and had blond hair and brown eyes. A friendly smile on his face, and he wore a normal standard issue military outfit.

"So why are we being woken up." He said with a yawn.

"Training." Chris suddenly spoke out.

"And who are yo- Oh my… It's an order sir." He said saluting.

"Ha, he reminds me of you Abe. What's your name kid?" Chris said facing him.

"My name is Quinn, Logan Quinn. Sir."

"No need for sir Logan, Chris is just fine." He said walking closer to him and offering his hand. Which Logan gladly shook.

"It's nice to meet you s- Chris." He said correcting himself.

"So is there anyone these coming." Abe asked.

"Y-yeah, everyone these are coming, we were just running late." At that same moment the rest of the men and women started entering the room, many minutes later all of the soldiers have entered the room. They were all talking to each other which made it hard to get their attention.

"HEY EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Chris yelled at them. Then their heads turned to him and Abraham.

"Now that we have your attention. I would like to say some things." Abe said.

"Ever since our Captain died it has been hard to train all you folks. But now I have some help, I assume most of you people already know who he is, I would like to introduce you to Chris." He said.

"Uh… Hi everyone. I will help you in your training for the next week. Be prepared." Chris said to the crowd rubbing the back of his head.

Everyone started murmuring. Chris leaned over to Abraham and whispered.

"What is first one thing on today's agenda?"

"Archery Training. Go through that door and you'll be there." He replied pointing east to the door.

"Ok everyone today is uh… Archery Training. Follow me soldiers." He said leaving the room with the soldiers following. The Archery room wasn't that wide, but the shooting range was many meters out, it was hard to see the color stripped targets but they were visible enough. There were six lanes and six targets.

_"They must train each squad at a time. This is going to take all day." _Chris thought

"Hey Chris before we start the training, I would like to meet my personal squadron." Abraham said as he brought six people to Chris. There were five guys and one girl in the squad.

"Nice to meet you people, state your names." He said as one man stood forward.

"My name is Adrian Scott, sir." He stood a little short at 5'5. He had light brown hair and blue eyes with the slightest bit of brown. He had a scar running across his nose. He looked to be in his thirties, and he was armed with an iron sword in his back and a couple gold daggers strapped to his hips. And there was a red plus sign on his uniform.

_"He must be the medic."_

"Nice to meet you Adrian." Chris said. Then a woman stood forward next

"My name is Isabella Henrietta." She stood shorter than Adrian at 5'3. She had light blond hair that was almost white and brown eyes. She herself looked pretty young for war too, probably in her early twenties. She had a bow and quiver on her back signifying that she was an archer.

"Pleasure to meet you Isabella." She just gave Chris a "Che". The next man stepped up.

"My name is John Parker." He was almost as tall as Chris at 6'1. He had premature graying hair, and his eyes were brown. He was armed with just an iron sword. He looked to be in his late thirties.

"It's great to meet you." John just saluted as the next man stepped forward.

"My name is Damarcus Nash, sir." He stood at 5'11, he had a dark brown hair and blue eyes. He was armed with a diamond sword and was well built and muscular body. He was probably the guy that rushes head on into battle. He looks to be in his early thirties along with Parker.

"Good to meet you soldier." Chris said as the next man stood up. It was Logan Quinn.

"You're in Abe's personal squad?" Chris asked.

"Yeah I am." He replied with his usual smile on his face. Then the next man stood forward.

"My name is Nicolas Eden." He said with a salute. He was taller than Chris at 6'4, he had black hair and brown eyes. He was armed with an iron sword and shield. He looks to be in his mid-twenties.

"Pleasure to be of your acquaintance, Eden."

"The pleasure is all mine sir." Eden said.

"Now that is done let's begin." Chris said.

"Ok everyone grab your bows." Abe said while sating back in a chair rubbing his arm. They advanced to a rack with 5 bows and stood in their places.

"How much training on this have you soldiers have?" Chris asked.

"Three hours." Eden said.

"Four hours." Quinn said.

"Two and three quarter hours." Nash said.

"Four hours." John said next.

"Three hours." Adrian said.

"Fourteen and a half hours. I'm a born archer." Isabella said with a smirk.

_"Pretty full of yourself aren't you." _Chris thought

"Ok everyone pull back on your bows hold your breath and keep one eye closed." Chris ordered.

"Yeah I don't need a lecture." Isabella said. Then Chris frowned.

"FIRE!" Chris yelled. They all let their arrows fly to their targets. They all missed the targets expect Isabella how struck the target some inches from the red bulls-eye.

"Nice shot everyone." Abe said from behind everyone.

"Yeah but need improvement." Chris said.

"Yeah everyone but me, I'm the best. I bet Chris couldn't even make the shot HA-HA-HA." Isabella said.

"Come on Bella, give us a break." Quinn said.

"Yeah." The rest said.

"I'll give you break when you actually hit something." She retorted.

"Isabella." Chris said.

"What?" She replied.

"You shouldn't say that to your comrades. They're in training and they'll get better."

"Don't think so. They suck at it." She said back to him.

_"I'll show you who sucks." _Chris thought

"Give me your bow and an arrow." Chris asked.

"Why?" She said holding it tighter.

"Just do it soldier."

"Fine." She said giving him her bow.

Chris pulled back on the arrow, aimed at the target and spoke. "Watch and learn people." Then he let the arrow go and fly to the target with the eyes of the soldiers watching. The arrow flew straight though Isabella's arrow splitting it in half and Chris' arrow took its place. This made the soldiers mouths go wide.

"B-but you didn't hit the bulls-eye." Isabella stuttered out.

"I wasn't trying to." Chris replied, which received a gasp out of Logan. Then she dipped her head down in shame.

"Yeah show her who's the best Chris." Adrian said. Then he received a glare from Chris effectively shutting him up. Chris looked back to Isabella and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"I'm not doing this to humiliate you, I'm doing this to teach you a lesson, don't get to cocky on the battlefield, it **will** get you killed. And I'd hate to have to lose someone in battle at your skill level like that. You have to have more confidence in your fellow soldier's skills. They'll get better, and so well you."

"Ok, sir." She replied

"Now everyone get back to your training, you have thirty minutes before another squad comes and takes your place." He said moving to Abraham and sitting in a chair beside him.

"You handled that well Chris." He said.

"Thanks."

"She can be overconfident sometimes."

"It's good to be confident in your skills just don't go too far with it."

"Yeah."

The next thirty minutes past by quickly, in the last five minutes of their training all of them actually shot their targets. After their archery training was complete for the day they when to the cafeteria while Abe and Chris stayed and trained the other squads.

(/\/\/\/\/\/\/\) (Yeah I skipped it, sue me :D)

Eight hours later the entire four platoons were trained for the day. Chris and Abe sat next to each other in the cafeteria eating some pork chops.

"Long day eh?" Abraham asked.

"Yeah. I just wish Taria was here."

"Miss her?"

"A little." Chris replied with a smile on his face.

"I remember when I loved someone like that." Abe said.

"Loved? What happened?"

"She died." He replied.

"Oh… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No it's ok, you didn't know any better."

"So… what happened."

"She was eaten alive."

"…"

"She was my wife, and pregnant." After he said that Chris' eyes widened.

"Damn, I'm sorry for your loss." Chris began. "That would be a horrible way to go."

"It's ok, she was having contractions to, so I left to get a doctor to check it out, that was when the zombies invaded my home and ate her." He said while tears were falling from his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Chris apologized again.

"I should've brought her with me, then she wouldn't be dead." Abraham said, rubbing his temples, trying to hold back his tears.

"The past can't be changed Abe, again, I-I'm sorry for what those things did to you." Chris said, patting Abraham's shoulder.

"Thanks Chris, I haven't really told anyone that, I guess I need to let it all out." Abraham replied, wiping some of the tears away from his face.

"It's good to let things like that out, don't want to bottle anything up."

"Yeah." Abe said as he looked up to the clock on the wall, it was 12:23 A.M.

"…We should head off to the barracks and get a good night's rest before tomorrow's training session." He said, sighing.

"Yeah, I am pretty tired." Chris replied.

"Ok." He said as he stood up. "Everyone you have seven minutes before curfew, we have a big day tomorrow and you should get some sleep." Then he left though a door leading to the barracks and Chris followed. Moving past many others they finally came to a room with a sign, it said: Lieutenant and 1st squad barracks.

"We have a spare bed over there Chris." He said pointing to the south east corner of the room. Then 1st squad entered the room."

"Oh, hi Chris and Ale." Adrian said greeting them.

"Hi everyone." Chris said while climbing into his bed and lied down in it.

"Ok everyone get some sleep, you we have a big day tomorrow."

"Yes sir." They all said.

Within the next couple minutes, they were all in their beds and were silent and started sleeping. Slowly, Chris was slowly taken by the power of sleepiness and shut his eyes and began to dream.


	6. Chapter 6

**Well here is Chapter 6, took me a little bit to finish xD. Anyway lets us get down to business shall we? I would like to thank an anonymous viewer for an OC submission. (I wish he had an account, and that there was more OC submissions T^T) And a cookie to all the new reviews I got. And the new follower: GoDoFblrD. And the new favorite: VictorPinchbeck :D**

**Anyway on with the new Chapter.**

(/\/\/\/\/\/\)

**Chapter 6: Nightmares and a new friend.**

(/\/\/\/\/\/\)

_Chris and Taria were sitting on a hill watching the sun set toward the horizon, ready to let the moon up and start the night. He used his right arm to pull her closer. Watching the sun setting to the horizon was a beautiful sight. But it was nothing compared to the woman next to him. Chris smiled then kissed her on the forehead and continued watching the scenery ahead of them, the sun looked so close but at the same time so far away._

_"I love you, you know that Taria?" He said pulling her even closer to him. Then she giggled and hugged him tighter._

_"I love y-" She was cut off by a human looking hand bursting though her chest, the breast bone splinters shot out of her skin and blood strayed everywhere. She couldn't even scream, the colors of her face became pale and her eyes rolled to the back off her head, her body was limp, Taria was dead._

_"N-no." That was all Chris could say as the love of his life was killed. The arm withdrew from Taria's chest and she fell to the ground, a large pool of her blood had formed. Chris' cloths were also stained with her crimson blood. Chris turned and looked up to see who had killed Taria. It was a man, but it also wasn't. He wore a casual outfit, a light blue shirt and dark blue jeans, but what scared Chris the most was his glowing white eyes._

_"W-what the h-hell." Chris stuttered out_

_"Greetings, human." The mysterious man said. His voice had many other demonic sounds behind it._

_"FUCK YOU!" Chris said as he pulled back a fist with the intention to punch and or kill the man. But he was cut short by the man catching Chris' fist with his left hand with ease. Then with right hand he securely put it around Chris' neck, choking him._

_"Be civil." He said_

_"Go to hell." Chris said_

_"Where do you think I came from?"_

_"…" Chris couldn't reply._

_"So you're Chris. Hmm, I would've expected more from the key." He said._

_"… W-what the f-fuck are you talking about?" Chris struggled to say as he was beginning to go in and out of consciousness._

_"All will be explained in due time, but I can't tell you now… It would ruin my plans for this world, and every other planet in this lowly, disruptive and pitiful galaxy." _

_"It won't matter, this is just a-a bad d-dream. It's not real, this isn't real." After Chris' said that the man tilted his head to the right a little. Then he smiled._

_"You really think this is a dream…? Then wake up Chris… And find out." He said as head squeezed Chris' neck with a large amount of pressure, soon Chris' blacked out in his nightmare._

(/\/\/\/\/\/\/\)

"AHH!" Chris screamed as he jolted upright from his bed, he was still in his barracks. He was breathing heavily and sweating. Everyone else in the squad was still asleep, except Isabella, she wasn't in her bed. But that didn't matter to him for the moment because his neck hurt a lot. Realizing what it could be, he ran to the bathroom and walked to the mirror. Then he examined his neck.

"What the hell." Chris said has he seen what he feared to see. Choke marks on his neck.

"Damn… Wait a second of the choke marks are there… Oh no." He said thinking that Taria may be dead for real. He bolted out of the room and ran down the hall running past other barracks and into the cafeteria. That was when he bumped into Isabella.

"OOF, HEY watch where you go- Oh, Chris. What are you doing up at seven in the morning?" She said to him.

"Question is what are you doing up?"

"Point taken, what are you up to?"

"I have to leave, for… personal reasons. I may be gone for a little while." He said.

"Ok, but be back here soon. We got more training to do."

"Don't know if I can promise that but, ok." He replied before running past her.

"See you later." She said as he left.

Chris turned left and he ran up the flight of cobblestone stairs to the wooden button, and he pressed it. After a couple moments, the pistons reviled the exit. Chris walked out and moved forward to the concealed lever, and pulled on it closing the entrance to the base. Then he ran into the forest moving to Trenton.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

At 7:35 in the morning Chris entered through Trenton's front gates. Then he ran to Taria's house. When he did, he quickly knocked the on the wooden door, but no response came after. Chris was worried to no end. He knocked again… still nothing.

_"If what happened in my nightmare happened for real… I… I…" He thought as he sighed._

_"Get a hold of yourself Chris, it was just… a dream. But, it doesn't explain the marks on my neck."_

Chris moved away from the door and sat down on a nearby wood bench and waited for 32 minutes for what seemed like hours until he heard something.

"HEY!" Someone shouted. Chris turned his head to the left to see one of Taria's friends: Claire.

"Hello." He replied to her.

"What are you doing here Chris? I thought you were training."

"I here to fi- How did you know about the training?"

"Oh I have my ways." She stated slyly. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to check on Taria."

"How sweet of you."

"Would you happen to know she is by any chance?" He asked.

"At this time she is usually out walking in the park by now."

"Oh, thanks bye." He said quickly as he left.

"Goodbye, my friend." She replied.

(/\/\/\/\/\/\)

Chris was at the park's entrance, as he entered it he looked around, all he saw was the scenery and other people, but none of them was the one that he was looking for. Nearly an hour into the search he came up with nothing. He was starting to think that his strange dream isn't all that strange.

"I have a feeling of déjà vu. Back here again, trying to find her. She has to be ok, she just has to." He said to himself. Chris would be lost in this world if she had died, and even worse… he would be alone again. He sighed and looked up at the blue sky. Doing so calms him down sometimes, but not all the time, this was one of those times.

_"Where the heck can she be?" _He thought to himself.

"I guess I'll search again, she's got to be around here somewhere." He said as he stood up from the bench and sighed again. Then he started walking on the stone walkway with his hands in his pockets. Half an hour later Chris was at the other end of the park, and still no sign of Taria… anywhere. At least not that he can see.

"Where is she?" He asked himself. He turned his head in all directions to find her, but came up with nothing until a spotted a tall oak tree near the park's center, then his eyes paned down to see his green beauty, sitting on the ground lying on the old tree looking up at the sky and white puffy clouds. He sighed in relief and walked over to hear.

"Oh, hi Chris." She said. Then he suddenly kneeled down and hugged her tightly, making her gasp and blush.

"…Chris… i-is something wrong?" She asked. He held on to her for five second until he let go and spoke.

"No… everything is fine. Everything is... just fine. I was just a little worried." He finally said to her with a smile.

"Aww… your worried about little old me." She said giving him a quick kiss.

"According to this whole current situation then yes, I am, very."

"No need to worry, I'll be fine."

"But I'm going to be gone for a week, leaving time for the enemy to assassinate you. I wouldn't know what to do if you gone. I would be lost, and have no one to hold on to." Chris said as he sat down next to her and put an arm around her, pulling her closer to him.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

"I hope not." He replied. Then she rested her head down on his shoulder.

"Taria?"

"What is it Chris?" She said.

"I thought you come to this park to walk, but you were just sitting here when I found you." He said waiting for her to say something.

"Whenever I got sad when somebody was making fun of me, Louis would always take me here… in this very spot, he would try to cheer me up. Succeeding every time he tried, those were good times."

"I'm sorry." Chris suddenly blurted.

"It wasn't your fault."

"He was a big part of your life, and he was just taken away from you. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to save everyone."

"It's ok Chris, at least I have you. I'm happy just being here with you." He said planting a kiss on his cheek.

"You do?"

"Yeah, I love you." She said giving him a hug.

"…I'm just a bit on edge today, I going to be gone for a whole week, and I'm just worried that somebody was going to take you away from me. And I don't know if I'll be able to handle that."

"I'll be fine, Ale, Sarah and Claire come around to check on me from time to time."

"But still…"

"Well I'm going to head back home now, you might as well go to the training thing to."

"Yeah, sure." He said with a face splitting grin. Soon Taria left to go back home, but Chris decided to stay at the old oak tree. Some red apples would fall off the branches here and there. And there was a wooden sign nailed to the tree, it inscribed: Holston's Tree. Chris didn't really know who this 'Holston' was, but he or she must've done something great to have this tree named after him or her. (Most likely a he) He looked up at the sky like Taria and himself had done earlier. The white clouds moved with the wind as if they were both dancing. He sighed again and started thinking…

_"I just wish I didn't have to fight, so I can stay at Taria's side, and her at mine. I just wish they would leave Taria alone, she hasn't done anything wrong."_ He thought to himself as a tear drop fell from his face. "_She has suffered so much… She has lost so many… She doesn't deserve this. Why can't they just see her as she is, a human being… Why is that so hard for them? Why are they so ignorant? Why is their vision so clouded? She is different, but that is what makes her so… special and unique from everyone else, why can't they see her for the beautiful person she is? And if they so desire to harm her, they will find themselves without a head, that's a promise." _Then he sighed again and whipped the tears from his eyes and face with his hand.

"I guess I should start back on the training." He said to himself as he stood up from his sitting position, took a deep breath and exhaled. Then he started walking down the stone walkway, going toward the exit. Suddenly Chris felt shivers running up his spine, he quickly turned around and looked at his surroundings… Nothing was really there except some birds in the trees.

"Hmm…" Suddenly he heard some ruling bushes in-between some trees some meters to his right. He turned toward the sound and started walking towards it, trying to investigate. Moving closer he saw a silhouette, as he got closer the silhouette darted away. Thinking it was the enemy Chris chased after it. It was leading Chris into the forest, sooner or later Chris would catch up to it, in this case it was sooner as he dived and tackled the silhouette and they both hit the dirt ground hard. Chris flipped the mystery man in his back and pulled his arm back ready to punch until he heard something.

"D-don't hurt me…" The man said. He was wearing a black hood that was concealing his face. The only thing Chris could do was lift the hood. It was just a boy, no younger then fifteen years old. He had light blond her, one blue eye and strange enough one purple eye. Chris stood up off of him and offered his hand.

"I'm sorry I chased you, take my hand boy." He said. The boy was reluctant to take his hand, but a few moments later he grabbed his and Chris pulled him to his feet. At the boys full height he stood at an astounding 8'2.

"You're a… you're a tall one aren't you?" Chris said.

"Yeah, make fun of me while you can." The tall boy said to him as he crossed his arms. Chris saw that the boy was depressed… very depressed.

"Why would I make fun of you, there is nothing wrong with you, is there?"

"Everyone I meet calls me a monster, I'm really tall and one of my eyes is purple but I'm still me. Even my friends made fun of me." He said with tears falling from his face to the grassy floor.

"Hmm… do you live in Trenton?" Chris asked.

"No… I-I-… I left my old home. I've been traveling for a while, doing whatever I can to get by." He replied. He started feeling sorry for the kid, Chris reached up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"What's your name boy?"

"I… I don't remember." He replied.

"Really…? Hmm, What am I going to call you… I got it. I dub thee… Achilles Zedekiah

"Achilles eh… it's got a pretty good ring to it. But can we leave the last name out?" He said with a smile on his face.

"Sure."

"Thanks." He replied.

"So Achilles, what are you doing out here?" Chris asks as they walk back to Holston's tree.

"Well, I guess I'll have to start at the beginning. That's if you want to hear it."

"I'm willing to listen, go ahead Achilles." He said he sat down next to the tree with the boy.

"Thanks, I don't remember much, but I'll try to tell you what I remember."

"Ok." Achilles took a deep breath.

"From what I was told, I was two feet tall when I was born, I basically ripped out of my mother, and she died of blood loss shortly after. Life wasn't that bad afterwards, I'd have breakfast, go to school and go to bed, the same routine over and over again. But on my third birthday everything went downhill." He suddenly stopped, and started crying again.

"It's ok, you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to." Chris said to his sad friend."

"No, it's fine. I need to let this out." He replied.

"Ok go ahead."

"On my third birthday, my dad wanted to take me hunting for the first time. I was really excited, I enjoyed my time with him because he is really the only family I had left. We went to our local forest for to shoot some cows. But we spend too much time outside, it was nightfall and we started heading back to our home. But what we didn't know that a creeper was following very closely. It caught up to us, my dad realized this and pushed me away and tackled the creeper to the ground. It blow up, I was far enough away to not be in the blast radius, but my dad was killed. I still remember his blood and body parts falling from the dark night sky. I r-r-remember when his head fell to the ground right in front of me, staring at me." He started crying harder.

"…" Chris was silent, and his eyes were wide. He didn't know what to say or he couldn't say anything.

"I escaped and went back home, my uncle afford for me to stay with him. Which I had to accept. The next year was just as horrible, with me growing another three feet, I was the tallest in my class and 5'6, but the middle of recess I experienced a terrible pain in my right eye. I fell to the ground clutching my eye, the nurse took me in to look at it, I she s-said it had turned to a glowing purple. Later the pain subsided, but everyone then started making fun of me, with my height and then my eye. Six years later, I was seven feet tall. And then I started getting bullied my three to four students at a time every day. Life was really hard, even some of my family members started saying things behind my back about me, thinking that I couldn't hear them… But I could. They were saying that I was the reason my dad died, BUT THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT NIGHT!"

"…" Chris was still silent.

"I couldn't take the ridicule anymore, so half way through high school I dropped out and ran away from home, surviving anyway I can.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you." Chris said after Achilles' rant.

"It's ok."

"No it's not. Something like this is not ok."

"Bu-"

"I have a… uh… friend who is in the same boat as you are." Chris said.

"What do you mean?"

"She was ridiculed just like you are, and she is different. But not like you. Would you like to meet her?"

"Sure."

_"This may not be a good idea, or it may help him, knowing that he is not the only one." _Chris thought

(\/\/\/\/\/)

Chris and Achilles stood outside Taria's door. Achilles walked over to on a bench and sat down while Chris was knocking on the door.

"Hey Taria, are you in there?" He waited a few second before he saw her open the door.

"Hello Chris, good to see you."

"Taria can you do something for me?"

"What do you need of me?" She said giving him a quick peek on the cheek.

"I found a guy in the woods, he is different like you, and was made fun of for it."

"Aww, bless his heart."

"Since this kind of happened to you both, I thought he would feel better if he meet you, maybe knowing that he is not alone will give him some closure."

"What's his name?"

"When I found him he didn't really remember his name, so I gave him one, Achilles."

"Quite the creative one, are you?" She said leaning on entrance of her house.

"But there is one problem." Chris said.

"…What?"

"His father was killed by a creeper… so he may hate you."

"Well, we won't know if we don't try right? I mean I thought you would hate or dislike me too when you first saw me… but look where are now, we're in a romantic relationship, something I thought I would never be able to experience myself."

"Yeah, I guess… I'll go get Achilles." He said leaving Taria and moving to his friend on the bench.

"Is she here?"

"Yeah she is, come on follow me." He said as he walked back to Taria's door with Achilles following.

_"Well, here goes nothing. I hope this won't be awkward." _Chris thought as they stepped in from of Taria.

"Achilles, this is Taria." There was a dead silence that took over them after he said that. Chris could fell himself breaking a sweat, he didn't know what was going to happen or what Achilles will do, until he spoke to Chris.

"Uh… Chris, can I talk to you for a moment."

"…S-sure, ok." They turned around and stepped out the door and Achilles spoke again.

"Is that what I think it is Chris?" He asked with an eyebrow cocked.

"Yes, and it is not a it, it's a she."

"B-but, she's a creeper." He stuttered out.

"Only half, and to me she is just as human as me… or you."

"Bu-"  
"No buts kid, she is a kind and gentle woman. She wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Yeah, but I still don't trust her." He said crossing his arms.

"You don't have to…" Achilles gave him a skeptical eyebrow raise.

"Just don't put her in harm's way and we'll be peachy… got it kid?" He said with an emotionless face, but Achilles could tell it was a threat.

"Got it?" He said again.

"Yeah, I read you loud and clear."

"Good, now let's go back inside."

"Sure, whatever." Achilles said as they walked back inside the house. Taria was sitting on a wooden chair patiently for their return.

"Uh… hi, Taria." Achilles finally said after seconds of silence.

"Greeting Achilles, nice to meet you." She said and sat up and walked closer. After a couple awkward moments Chris spoke.

"So now that you two are acquainted, I'm going to take my leave, I got work to do." He said and turned away to the door.

"Chris, wait." She said suddenly. Chris turned around and opened his mouth to reply but he was cut off by Taria throwing her arms around Chris and started kissing him. Achilles eyes widened and he looked away. Many seconds later she released him and spoke.

"Don't die you hear?"

"Yeah, I'll come back, I promise. Hey, Achilles."

"What?" He replied still not looking at the two.

"I what to show you something, follow me." Chris said turned around and walked out.

"Uhh… Ok." He said.

Achilles stepped out of Taria's house nonchalantly and walked up to Chris with a question.

"What is it that you want to show me?"

"Do you know that this town's army is going to war in six days?" Achilles' eyes widened at that.

"N-no, I didn't know that."

"Would you like to help me with it?"

"With w-what?"

"I would like to recruit you for the war, you up to it kid?"

"Y-you said we have six days… What could I do or learn in that time? I'm not worth your effort." He said, and then Chris raised his hand and rested it on Achilles shoulder.

"Don't say that Achilles, I believe in you. And we have plenty of time for you to learn the basics. And if that isn't enough, well get you suited up, and use a hidden power of yours." Chris said.

"What 'Hidden Power', I don't know what you're trying to say."

"You're power of intimidation of course."

"Intimidation? I don't understand."

"If training you takes too long, we'll suit you up in armor and give you weapons. You're incredible height will serve as the intimidation. But we have to start training you today if you'll be able to defend yourself against anything, that's if you'll accept my offer." Chris finished with a straight face. Achilles started thinking about what Chris just said, he was silent for a few seconds before a said anything.

"I guess I'll accept. I don't really have anything better to do."

"Great, now follow me kid. You have a lot to learn."

"Ok." He said and he followed Chris to the forest.

"But I have a question." Achilles said.

"What is it?"

"Are you and that 'girl'… together?" He said trying to say the right words without agitating Chris.

"We sure are, and I'm proud of it. I love her, and I have no regrets on the matter."

"Bu-" Achilles was about to say something. But if he did, it would probably set Chris off, so he stopped himself and stated following Chris though the woods.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

"Why are we in the middle of nowhere Chris?" Achilles asked.

"I said that the first time I came here, do you see that lever over there?"Chris said pointing to the lever, which was exposed.

"Yeah."

"Good, now activate it."

"Yeah, sure." He walked over to it and pulled it to the right. And then the ground started moving apart and revealing the entrance."

"Wow." Achilles said wide eyed.

"Cool right?" Chris said to his tall friend.

"Yes, you could say that." Chris moved over to the entrance, but Achilles didn't follow.

"Hey! Are you coming or not." Chris raised his voice to break the trance Achilles was in.

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

Soon both Chris and Achilles were walked down the cobblestone steps as the entrance closed behind them. As the two were getting closer the light of the room ahead of them, Achilles was getting anxious of how the soldiers will react to him. But Achilles' train of thought was stopped by Chris' words.

"Are you ok? You seem worried."

"Yeah its ju-

"There is no need to worry about the soldiers and their opinions Achilles, you'll be fine."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"You'll be ok, trust me."

"O-ok." He said as they continued to walk down the stairs. Ten seconds later they opened a wooden door and entered the first room.

"Hey where is this army you said you have here?"

"Hmm… they must've started it without me."

"Started what?"

"The training." Chris replied.

"Oh."

Just then Abraham walked through a wooden door to Chris' right.

"Hey what happened Chris? You weren't here earlier this morning fo… who is this?" He said staring at Achilles.

"It's not polite to stare Abraham. And as for my friend here, his name is Achilles."

"His so…" Abe trailed of not trying to say the wrong word.

"Tall? Yeah we know that."

"Well… ok, glad to see you Chris. Come on we got work to do." Then he turned and started walking away.

"Wait." Chris said stopping him.

"What?"

"Would it be fine if we use Achilles as our newest recruit?"

"You're the co-trainer, go ahead."

"Good." Chris said.

"So… when do we start Chris?" Achilles said.

"Now."

(/\/\/\/\/\/\)

"What news do you have for me Chandler?" The white eyed man asked his servant.

"Chris and Abraham have been training there army for battle, I don't know why they are, they must've gotten word of our invasion somehow."

"It was your soldier by the name of Markus. I have known of his traitorous act for quite some time."

"H-how do you know that, he has been with us for twelve years."

"Then I'll ask you one question, where is he now?"

"…"

"Exactly."

"What should we do master?" Chandler asked.

"Hmm… "

"…"

"Send your army to Trenton now."

"B-but this base is stationed so far away. It's a one or two day trip."

"Do as you are told human." He replied.

"Bu-" He was interrupted by the man teleporting in front of him and started choking him with enough pressure to break an arm.

"I am Herobrine, you don't get to say but, you follow my orders without question, NOW DO AS YOU ARE TOLD YOU HUMAN SWINE!" Then he let Chandler out of his grasp and Chandler fell to the ground and started coughing, with shaky legs he stood up and said:

"Y-yes Lord Herobrine."

"Go rally your troops, destroy Trenton and kill Chris. I cannot have the key messing with my plans, and don't fail me this time… because it will be your last. Do you understand, Chandler?" Herobrine said.

"Yes si- I mean Lord Herobrine."

"NOW GO YOU IMBISILE!" Herobrine yelled as Chandler ran out of the room.

"Never thought in my life I would have to work with these idiots." He said.

_"The key will must never fulfill his destiny, no matter the cost. Soon the entire universe will grovel beneath my feet, not even Chris… no… not even Notch will stop me from achieving my goal."_

(/\/\/\/\/\/\)

**IT'S HEROBRINE :U! (THER WILL BE WAR IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OR TWO) Well anyway I hope you guys like this Chapter. And to the Anonymous Viewer I hope you like your OC. (I JUST HOPE YOU DO) Well guys this is where I say goodbye. PEACE OUT. Ohh… And one MOAR thing :D REMEMBER TO REVIEW. :3 (It gives me motivation 3)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Enter the Ultima Guard**

**HOLY CRAP! 1,430 something views, 14 reviews, 8 followers and 7 favoraites O.o Thank you guys for all the support, It's really appreciated. Oh yeah, and here is the new Chapter. (Took me a little bit) Oh and I would like to give a special thanks to: James Terrazen for a massive amount of OC submissions, +10,000 awesomeness points for you. (Promoted to Captain!) Some of the OC submissions from other people may or may not be in this chapter, but they will be in soon. (I hope, depending on what I do) :D **

(/\/\/\/\/\/)

Herobrine was sitting in his current office made of nether rack and glow stone, which made him feel like home again, with windows placed in each wall facing him, and a wooden door behind him. He was looking out of a pane of glass to see the landscape, all the trees and grass, and the skies, the white fluffy clouds. He was thinking about all the ways that he could destroy the peace of the world. Until his thoughts were interrupted.

"Lord Herobrine?" Chandler asked as he entered the room though the door.

"What is it human?" He replied coldly, not giving eye contact.

"Due to some problems with the weaponry, the departure will be delayed for some hours. Two to five tops."

"You humans can't do anything right."

"I already have it all figured out your highness."

"What do you have planed human?" Herobrine asked with an eyebrow cocked.

"I've hired a team of soldiers of fortune to insert themselves into Trenton, and if need be, kill Chris and his loved one. I gave them some false information to go on so they won't get any ideas. If their army is untrained and not ready, they will take care of them for us. When and if they're finished with their mission, they will report back to me."

"Who are they?"

"They called themselves the Ultima Guard."

"What is this… 'Ultima Guard' you speak of?"

"Basically, the Ultima Guard is a team of mercenaries. They do anything that they are told to do, not questions asked, depending on the situation. That's if they get paid enough that is."

"Are they successful in their endeavors? I won't have some 'poorly trained' minions who can't finish their job and get themselves killed in battle. That would just be a waste of time, and man power."

"One-hundred percent. We may not even need to leave the base."

"Good, but… just for precaution I want you to send a recon team to provide some over watch more me."

"Why would I need to waste even more of my resources on this?"

"You said that they were 'soldiers of fortune' right?" Herobrine said and stood up from the chair he was sitting in and walked over to the window in front of him, looking out of it.

"Yeah I did, what does that have to do with anything?"

"What if the enemy paid more than you did? Will they turn on us?"

"Oh, I probably should've thought that one out a little more." He said rubbing the back of his head.

"Just send your recon team you human swine. If they turn on us or don't come back, proceed with the purge of Trenton. Don't fail me… or death will come to you."

"Y-yes Lord H-herobrine, the world and more will be yours soon, very soon." He said.

"I know that, human. Now go."

(/\/\/\/\/\)

After a long days work of sword training, Isabella, Logan, Achilles and Adrian were sitting on a cafeteria table. It was as silent as a desert, until the woman broke it.

"So… who did you get so tall Achilles?" Isabella asked from the other side of the dining table.

"Don't ask him that, he is a little subconscious about it HAHAHA" Logan laughed out while choking on a piece of cooked beef.

"No I'm not, I just don't usually like the attention with that particular subject, it's always negative." Achilles replied and looked down to the floor.

"How can you say something like that dude? What you have right here is a blessing. You're just a boy with an overactive pituitary gland." She said trying to make him feel better.

"How does that explain my eye?"

"Well… Let me put it to us this way. That is just something that Notch blessed you with, it's nothing really to be ashamed of. You shouldn't let what others say to you, I know I did when guys say 'Women can't join the army' and 'Get back in the kitchen' but I didn't really care what they said. And now I'm one of the best archers down here."

"I guess you're right." He breathed out and in to calm him down, which proved effective to some extent.

"You'll be all right Achilles, in one day you've proven yourself to me and everyone else that you are a valiant warrior. You're all right in my book." Adrian said from the right of him.

"Thanks Scott."

"No problem bud." He said as he took a bite of his pork chop. Few minutes later Chris exited the kitchen and sat down in the table with his friends.

"So how is everything going guys… and girl?" Chris said.

"I'm good." Achilles spoke.

"Me too Cap'n. Not much really going on." Adrian said finishing of his chicken.

"So, to summarize today's events there was training, breaks, training, breaks. It's kind of boring. Not much exciting stuff has been really happening lately." Logan said. A spilt second later the door that led to the outside burst wide open, the wooden door slammed on the wall with a loud bang. Everyone sitting on the table stood up in 0.5 seconds.

"You had to say something, didn't you." Isabella said coldly.

"Hey it's not my fault if crap lines up like this." Logan replied to the woman, with some irritation in his voice.

Suddenly a man stepped forward from the entrance. He was breathing heavily, so he must've been running the whole way here. He was wearing his standard issue iron armor. He was five feet 7 inches tall, and had dark brown eyes and hair and looked to be around twenty years old. His face seemed familiar to Chris but he couldn't put his finger on it. The worse part about the situation is that he had an arrow in his shoulder, and bleeding rapidly. Chris and the others quickly ran over to the injured soldier. Chris was going to help him out like he did with Abraham not too long ago. He grabbed the arrow and yanked it out.

"AHHH" He screamed from the pain.

"You'll be fine. What's your name?"

"M-my name is Shawn M-Masterson." He said with shallow breaths.

"What happened out there Shawn? Why was there an arrow in you?" Achilles asked the wounded soldier.

"…I…I… I let them d-die." Shawn stuttered out.

"What is it, what happened?" This time Chris asked.

"W-we were attacked by some sort of group, a team of eight to be precise. M-my stealth team is dead, I was… we were ambushed. I just barely managed to escape with my life." The atmosphere in the room suddenly got gloomier.

"Monster Hunters?" Isabella asked her trainer.

"Could be, but they are way too early to attack like this, it's even more improbable, he said that there is only eight of them that he saw."

"Bandits mabye?" Logan asked.

"They definitely were _NOT _bandits." The injured man said as he leaned on the wall.

"Some sort of 3rd party maybe?" Adrian said while opening his med kit and tending to Shawn's wound.

"Perhaps. Where are they now Shawn?" Chris said.

"I-I think they may by on their w-way here." He said as his wound stung from the treatment. Chris' eyes widened from the injured man's statement. Chris walked over to Adrian and Shawn, kneeled down and spoke.

"D-did any of them see you enter this base?"

"…" Shawn was silent.

"I repeat. Did they see you enter this base?" Chris said with an emotionless face that would scare the shit out of a less hardened man.

"I-I don't know… maybe, I couldn't tell. I _WAS_ running for my life you know. I didn't really want to look back."

_"Damn it."_ Chris thought then stood up and addressed the other soldiers.

"Isabella, Achilles, go get the rest of the soldiers. If this is the attack that we have been training for we need all hands on deck."

"Yes sir." They both replied then left to the door some feet away.

"Adrian, continue treating Shawn's wounds."

"Yes sir."

"Logan, I want you to-"

"CHRIS!" Isabella yelled interrupting him. He turned on his heel and ran to the two soldiers at the barracks entrance door.

"What is it?"

"This door is locked form the outside." Achilles said.

"Well this is an emergency, break it do-" Chris was interrupted by the red stone lamps lost their power. Which was really weird sense that doesn't really happen out of nowhere, but it did.

"Well shit." Achilles cursed.

"What happened? I can't see a thing in front of my fucking face." Isabella said.

"Hmm." Chris started thinking. _"What or who could do this? Wait a minute."_

"Hey Adrian?" Chris said.

"What sir?"

"Is there any sort of back entrance to this place? Anything?"

"Hmm… not that I kno- wait a sec."

"What?" Isabella quickly said.

"There are the sewers right below us, they lead up to the lower maintenance deck. Whoever came from there can be anywhere by now."

"Damn, do we have an available light anywhere?" Chris asked the group.

"Nope." Masterson said.

"No, sorry." Isabella said next.

"I don't thi- Oh wait, I got an extra torch in my pack." Adrian said. With no sight from the darkness no one could see, but Adrian had his pack in his back, so with some rustling sounds and clicking the light from a suddenly lit torch illuminated the room.

"Finally, I can see." Achilles said throwing his arms in the air, hitting the ceiling.

"What do you think happened Cap'n? Adrian said while wrapping up Shawn's wound.

"Don't know, someone or… something must've cut or shorted out the red stone electrical systems." Chris said and walked over to the nearest lamp and examined it, nothing really seemed too out of the ordinary.

"What should we do?" Shawn asked.

"We do want we were doing before, I'm bashing this damn door in." Isabella said. She pulled back and bashed the door with her shoulder, the door didn't budge. The only sounds that were emitted were the sounds of the door creaking and the sound of Isabella's shoulder cracking.

"Ow fuck, I think I broke my shoulder." She said trying to rub some pain out of her shoulder.

"You'll be fine. Adrian, look at her shoulder." Chris ordered.

"Yes sir." He stood up from his crouching position and grabbed his torch and started to walk to Isabella, but he was stopped as a silhouette of a person came out from behind form the shadows. The person wrapped his/her arm around his neck and subdued him, which made him drop him torch to the ground. And it went out, filling the room with darkness once more, no one could see. Chris heard more rustling and grunts that came from his fellow soldiers. Chris felt an arm coil around his and arms. He was pushed to the ground, he couldn't see so he can't really defend himself. Chris felt that a boot was placed on his head, holding it to the cold ground. He couldn't escape the hold he was in, so he tried to speak to whom or whatever was doing this.

"How are you, show yourself!" Chris yelled indistinctively. No reply was given, or it was until all of the red stone lamps mysteriously came back to life, revealing who had invaded. There were eight figures in the room. Six male, and two female. One of them was holding Chris down to the floor, two of them subdued Achilles. Shawn couldn't really move much or even defend himself from his pain so they didn't really thought of him as a threat at the moment. The other female pinned Isabella to the ground. Adrian and Logan were both on the floor and not moving. They must've been knocked out in the confusion.

"Was going on here? Who are you guys?" Chris said to the invaders.

"Shut up you terrorist."

"Wha-" The man that had been hold Chris down said, he lifted up his foot kicked the side of Chris' face. The only sounds that he heard after that was his fellow soldiers screaming his name before he fell out of consciousness.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Chris was awakened by a punch to the face, breaking his nose. Blood started to pour out of his nostrils, and into the floor.

"AHH!" He yelled from the pain.

"Yo Ter, he's awake." The man said

"Thank you, Chaos. You may leave now."

"Yeah sure." Chaos said as he left and slammed the door behind him. Chris looked around the room. He was still in the same place that he was knocked out in. He was tied to a wooden chair, immobile.

"So you're Chris?" He said while leaned against the wall.

"Yeah, and you are?"

"Oh, where are my manners." He stopped leaning on the wall and stepped closer. "My name is Terashi." He stood a little bit taller than Chris at 6'4', golden blond hair that was long enough to be at his waist, blue eyes, roughly around one-hundred ninety pounds and from his looks Chris couldn't tell how old this man is but he guesses him to be around his thirties. His bow had a purplish glow, which means it was enchanted with something.

"What do you want from me? And what is your gang doing here?" He asked while trying to bottle up his rage.

"What do I want you say? I just want the bounty that is placed on your head."

"I have a bounty on my head?"

"Yeah you do. And I intend to collect it."

"How sent you?"

"Why should I tell you that…? But for the fun of it I will, you'll be dead soon enough. Me and my team were hired by a company by the name of the… what was it… oh yeah, the Monster Hunters hired us."

"WHAT!" Chris yelled.

"Don't shout please, I have a headache." He said rubbing his temples.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THEY SUCCEED IN THEIR PLANS!?"

"First of all no, and second, I said to stop screaming." He replied.

"From what I could tell, you're a soldier of fortune right?" This made Terashi look at him with his head cocked to the side.

"Very perceptive of you, yes I am." He said and grabbed his bow and aimed it at Chris.

"So, what you want is to live a life of luxury, right?"

"Basically, yeah that is my objective. And after this, I'll get paid enough to not have to work again for the rest of my life."

"But if you help the Monster Hunters achieve their goal, there will be no world to live in anymore. No freedom, no nothing." Terashi raised his eyebrow and lowered his bow.

"Explain now, I don't have much more patience to give."

"Do you even know what my enemies are planning to do when I'm out of the way?" Chris asked.

"Not really. When I'm fairly compensated, I just do what I'm ordered to do, no questions asked."

"Who came to do personally to tell you to do this?"

"I don't know his name, but he had a scar from his forehead down to his right cheek."

"Chandler! That little asshole!"

"Chandler was his name you say?"

"Yeah."

"I did get a bad vibe from him went I saw him though, even his voice sent shivers up my spine."

"They will take over the world." Terashi went wide-eyed from Chris' sudden outburst.

"What? How can they take over the world? All they do is kill the monsters from this planet and make it a safer place for us humans, that is a good thing."

"Not all the time." Chris said quietly."

"I… I don't understand."

"I'll start from the beginning." Chris sighed. "There is a woman by the name of Taria, she lives here in Trenton, she is… very special to me. But…"

"What?"

"She is not entirely human in the eyes of others, and she has been ridiculed for it for most of her life." Chris said with his trademark poker face.

"I don't understand what this 'Taria' has to do anything with your current situation."

"Let me finish and then you'll know why."

"Hmm… Proceed with your explanation." Terashi said as he pulled up a chair and sat down

"Thank you. When Taria was just seven years old, her own parents were killed and she was kidnapped by some sort of crazy scientist. He was trying to make a creeper army that could actually think for themselves, not just having a base desire to destroy everything. The Monster Hunters did invade the scientists lab to find her and kill him, but when they got there she had already been turned. Somehow she escaped the lab, and even the Monster Hunter infantrymen. But she lost for a period of time." Chris took a deep breath.

"Hmm… What does she look like?"

"Basic human skeletal structure, green skin, black hair and her eyes are black just like hair."

"Just the pupil?"

"Not just that, the entire eye."

"Can she self-destruct?"

"I'm not so sure about that. She may be able to, but… I don't want that to happen."

"Ok, continue."

"Then a man, Louis Myers. Took her in looking past what she looks like. And raised her like she was his own child for another fourteen years. But there were many complications."

"Like what? I'm curious." Terashi asked.

"The same soldiers that trying to safe her when she was seven tried to kill her a month and some days ago. I stopped them myself and saved her and her adoptive father. But they kept trying, every time was thwarted. But over time they did take someone from us."

"Who?"

"I'll get to that, one day they kidnapped her. But they didn't kill her, even though they could've. They used her as bait to get to me, to try to kill me along with her. When I left to go rescue her, they killed her adoptive father when I wasn't there to protect him. She was devastated when she found out. S-she has been through so much in her life, and she didn't deserve any of it. She is a kind and gentle woman. All that I'm trying to do is protect her, with my life if necessary. She does _NOT_ deserve to die."

"Hmm, when Chandler hired me, he told me that you were a terrorist, saying that you could control the monsters of the night at will."

"That is a bunch of bull shit!" Chris snapped.

"Hmm… the plot thickens, interesting."

"It doesn't even stop there."

"It doesn't?" Terashi replied.

"No. Do you know why I'm training these soldiers, Terashi?" Chris didn't receive a reply for a few moments.

"Not really, I do wish to know though." He said scooting to a more comfortable position in his chair.

"One of my friends had an informant by the name of Markus posing as a soldier in the Monster Hunters ranks. He told me that the same person who is going to pay you will lead his army to purge Trenton. Kill me, kill Taria. And even destroy Trenton… killing everyone."

"I'm not sure even Chandler would do that." Terashi stated.

"The Monster Hunters aren't being lead by Chandler alone, he is just a puppet, being used by someone else just to assert his own ambition."

"Elaborate."

"Have you ever heard of someone named Herobrine?"

"Hmm… Only in books, I know some tales about him. Is he real?"

"Yeah he's real, I'm trying to defend Trenton with my own army. If I defeat Chandler and his army here, I think I may have a chance to defeat Herobrine. A very, very, small chance, but he is a god. I don't even know the first thing of how to even hurt him, but I have to try. For everyone's sake, especially Taria's. I'll figure something out, I always do."

"What will happen if this 'Herobrine' wins." Terashi asked.

"Destruction? Famine? Mass Genocide? Who knows. All I know is that I have to protect Taria and the others. I always protect the one I love and care for, and if we lose here, Herobrine will not stop until the whole universe is under his control, not even ."

"…So this 'Taria'… you love her?"

"…Yes, I… I do."

"Hmm…"

"And whatever Herobrine plans to do isn't going to be good for anyone. The thing that will most likely happen is that the human race will be put into slavery. I'm fighting to protect the innocent. And I know why you're fighting Terashi, but who are you fighting for?" Chris' question caught Terashi off guard, The man with the bow started thinking about the whole situation concerning the information Chris just told him. Soon after, Chris also started thinking.

_"If this guy doesn't untie me and let me out of here… I may need to do something drastic. I have to get out of here." _Chris thought rapidly.

"Hmm… I've decided." Terashi suddenly said.

"What?" Chris said, and then Terashi stood up from the chair and walk over to Chris and bent down, now they were face to face.

"You asked me who I was fighting for earlier right?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Just like you, I also have someone that I fight for. And if she was non-existed from my life, killed or whatever, I would be lost and would have no reason to keep going. I would probably would've gone mad if she wasn't here to keep me sane."

"Girlfriend?"

"Wife." Terashi said and walked around Chris and started untying him. "I'm going to let you go."

_"That's good."_ Chris thought. "Thanks."

"Because doing something just for money, which may or may not cause something like Mass Genocide to happen, that's just not right. And if something like that can happen, it may cost me my life, the lives of my friends and maybe even my wife. But if you're lying to me, I will take you down and kill you, is that clear?"

"Yeah, I got it. If so if you believe me, I would need the help of your team. You guys are pretty good fighters. Even with the army I have here, it may not be enough to defeat my enemies, especially Herobrine." Chris replied. With his hands untied he sat up and rubbed his wrists, which were abnormally purplish red for how long he thinks he's been out.

"I guess, but any loot that the Monster Hunters have when we defeat them, go to me and my group."

"Yeah you can take it all, I'm not going to need it."

"Good."

"So… what now?" Chris asked.

"First of all, I want you meet my friends." He said happily.

"Ehhh, I don't know if that is a good idea?"

"What do you me- Ohhhh… Well, We'll have to explain the situation to them. Plus I'm the head Tactician and Leader of my group, so what I say goes most of the time."

"Most?" Terashi laughed.

"You'll be fine." Terashi said

"Yeah, I bet I will." Chris said sarcastically.

"They're nice people, well, if you're on their good side that is." Terashi said as Chris emitted a groan. "I'll take you them, follow me."

"Ok." They turned left toward the door and exited the room were Chris was recently kept in.

"Sooo… where are they at?"

"They should be at the cafeteria, it is there, where they are holding your friends."

"Are they hurt?" Chris asked as they started walking to their destination.

"Nothing too serious, I've ordered them not to do anything to them for now."

"Good."

(\/\/\/\/\/)

"We're here." Terashi said as he put his hand on the doorknob.

"Finally, I've been here for a couple days and I gotta say, it still seems like a maze to me."

"Yeah, will here we go." He said and opened the door, revealing that Terashi's friends were just sitting in the chairs, waited for their Leader to return. But this, ins't what they expected. They all looked at Chris, and then at Terashi with confusion painted all over their faces.

"Is this all of them?" Chris asked.

"Yes."

"T-Terashi, what is the meaning of this?" One of the men asked.

"Calm down James, I'm making the right decision here. We've been doped. Chris, explain." A full fifteen later Terashi's fellow 'soldiers of fortune' were filled in and the situation concerning the Monster Hunters and their trickery, also Herobrine.

"So this 'Herobrine' is the mastermind behind everything?" One of them said.

"Yeah, that's right." Both Chris and Terashi said.

"Before we say anything else, I would like for Chris to be acquainted with you guys." He turned to Chris. "Chris these people are my three generals." Two men and a woman stepped forward.

"This is my lovely wife, Keiko." This woman stood just short from Taria's height at 5'4'', and looked to be around her mid-twenites. Chocolate brown hair and emerald green eyes, she was pretty thin and looked to be around one-hundred thirty pounds and a smile on her face as big as Taria's. Her weapon was basically a giant war hammer that she was lugging around the place. Some of the materials that were used to make it were familiar, like the Nether brick fence used for the handle and the obsidian for a part of the base, and one other material Chris couldn't identify.

"It's nice to be of your acquaintance now that we are on different terms." She said walked over to Terashi's side.

"So you're comfortable with me being here right now?" Chris asked to newly non-hostile woman.

"I don't really trust you fully without proof but… Terashi seems to trust you to some extent. So if he says to let you go, I'll put my trust in his decision."

"Thanks."

"Next up is Chaos Deathrage." Terashi said.

_"Now that's a name you don't see everywhere. Hey wait a minute, wasn't that the guy who punched me in the nose!"_ Chris thought to himself.

The man named 'Chaos' stepped forward with a 'Che'. He was as tall as Chris at 6'2'' and looked to be around late twenties or early thirties. Icy blue eyes and golden blond hair that reached down to his waist, just like Terashi's. He was large and muscular so he looked to be somewhere around two hundred pounds. His weapon was currently a unique one. It was a diamond sword in his back, but it was covered with chain, and had a red stone torch as a handle. Wouldn't want to know what it does.

"You better not be pulling anything behind our backs you little shit, or you're going to wish you were never born." Chaos said, but Chris stood his ground.

"Stop being so vulgar Chaos, he is innocent until proven otherwise." Terashi said sternly.

"Do you ever shut up Ter? I swear you can be such a dick sometimes."

"Chaos, you will not treat Terashi with such disrespect." James said.

"Butt out James, you're not envolved in this conversation." Chaos said angrily.

"Well I don't have to be a 'dick' if you just follow my damn orders." Terashi said.

"Yeah yeah, sure Cap'n." Chaos said and walked away to the nearest chair and sat down, propping his legs up on the table and sighed.

"Well that was intense. Are you guys brothers or something?" Chris asked.

"Why do you think that Chris?" Keiko said.

"Well first of all they have the same hair color and styles, and second of all they argue like they're brothers."

"We are brothers Chris, but only half brothers." Terashi said.

"Oh." After a couple seconds of silence before Terashi spoke.

"Ok next up." A man that looked to be in his thirties stepped forward.

"My name is James." This man was by no means weak, one of his biceps would probably be the size of Chris' head. Eyes as blue as Chaos, and shoulder-length black hair. He stood at 5'11'' and from his muscle mass Chris presumed this man to be about two-hundred fifty pounds, at least that was his estimation. He also had a two-handed sword inside a sheath, strapped to his right hip.

"…" James didn't say anything. He just saluted and walked away.

"He doesn't speak much." Terashi said. "Ok, lower level troops, present yourselves." The last four stepped forward.

"My name is Aden, I am the weapons and armor crafter of the Ultima Guard." The kid looked fairly young, no older than 15. His height was a little below average at 4'7''. Bright blue eyes, and bright blond spiky hair. He was also fairly thin, he could be any heavier than one-hundred fifty pounds. His weaponry was fairly simple, two swords both attached to his hips, but the swords were only about half the size of a normal sword at two feet per sword.

"Greetings." He said, with his stoic expression.

"Uhh… Hello." Aden just walked away.

"…Well that was awkward." Chris said as he turned his head to look at Terashi and Keiko.

"That's just him being him, it's normal." Keiko said.

"Next!" Terashi asked. Another boy about Aden's age stood up.

"My name is Nol, I'm the Ultima Guards' trainer." The boy's height was a bit taller than the other boy at 4'9''. He had charcoal black hair, which was also spiked like Aden's. And his eyes were bright green. He had to be around one-hundred seventy pounds and he had a bow on his back. It was glowing purple, just like Terashi's.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Chris." He as he shook Chris' hand with gusto.

"Yeah, you too."

"You look like a nice guy, I hope that what this 'Chandler' guys says about you isn't true." He said with a big smile.

"Yeah, I'm no terrorist."

"Good." He said and walked away to talk to the others.

"I like that guy." Chris said.

"Yeah, he has a knack for likableness." Keiko said.

"Ok. Next." Terashi said. A woman stepped forward.

"My name is Alexia, Demolitions Expert of the Ultima Guard." This woman was shy of Taria's height at 5'5''. Pitch black wavy hair and her eyes had a dull shade of grey. She looked to be in her late twenties, and around one-hundred seventy pounds. Her weaponry had more variety them the others. She had an abnormally thin diamond sword with a weighted handle, and sticks of dynamite strapped to her hips and legs.

"Hello." Alexia said. But then a hiss suddenly came from behind her. Chris tilted his head to the right to see who or want emitted that hiss. There was a small creeper behind her, but it didn't try to kill anyone. It was just standing there.

"Y-you know there is a small creeper behind you right?" Chris said. Staring at the two and a half feet tall creeper.

"Oh, you mean him?" She said pointing at 'him'.

"Yeah, I do."

"He's harmless, just look how cute he is." She said and picked up the creeper and cradled it like a baby.

"He's docile?"

"Yeah, he wouldn't hurt a fly, even if he could explode." She said happily as she rocked the creeper back and forth.

"He can't?" Chris asked out of curiosity.

"The explosive organs inside him are malformed, all he can do is hiss, flash, and expand."

"Hmm."

"Hey, uh can I ask you something?" Alexia asked.

"What?"

"The woman, Taria her name was. When you described her you said that she was part creeper right?"

"Yeah. What about it."

"Cou- Could she translate what my little creeper is saying? I what to know what he thinks of me."

"…" Chris was thinking about it.

"Please, I really what to know what he thinks about." She gave Chris a puppy dog look.

"Uhh… I don't know if Taria can do that, but I guess when we get out of here we can do that. I'm also curious to know what the consciousness of a creeper thinks about."

"Thank you thank you thank you." She said quickly and walked away with the creeper in her arms.

"Uhh… Ok."

"Yeah, the pet creeper freaked me out to when I first saw it, but you get used to it." Terashi said. "Next!" A men who looked to be in his early thirties stepped up.

"My name is Mike, I'm the leading Agricultural and Industrial expert of the Ultima Guard." The man looked a lot like James and looked to about as old as him.

_"They must be a twin brothers or something." _Chris thought.

He was as tall as James at 5'11''. Shoulder length golden brown hair, plus he sported a goatee. And Icy green eyes. He had compacted muscle compared to James, so Mike looked to be around two-hundred thirty or two-hundred forty pounds.

"Good to meet you." Chris said.

"Like wise." He said with a large smile that rivaled Nol's. Mike walked away.

"So what now?" Chris asked Terashi, who was right beside him.

"Hmm, I guess my team can go back home. You can keep training your army until Chandler come around. You can call on us when you need it."

"How will I find you?"

"Just scream my name in the night sky, I'll know."

"Oooook. So, were are my friends?"

"We moved them back to their respective barracks." Keiko said.

"Ok, can you guys get them?"

"Sure, Chaos, release the others." Terashi ordered.

"Can't you get someone else to do it?"

"Nope, just go."

"Ok, fine." He got up from his chair and walked to the barrack room door and left.

"You may relax now Chris, We'll be leaving soon." Terashi said walking away to his friends with Keiko. Chris moved over to a chair and sat down. Five minutes later Chaos came back into the room with Chris friends.

"Ok, I got'em." Chaos said and sat down in the chair he previously had been sitting in.

"Chris!" all of them said in unison, and then they walked/jogged over to Chris' position.

"Hey Chris are you ok? Your nose is bleeding." Adrian said examining the broken nose.

"I'll be fine Adrian."

"How did you get released Chris? I don't understand." Isabella said stand beside Achilles.

"Well it's hard to explain but they're sort of on our side for now."

"Really…? How'd you pull that one off?" Logan asked.

"I told them the truth, now lets get back to-" He was interrupted by a muffled explosion. The entire group stayed silent for a few seconds. A couple more muffled explosions were heard.

"W-What was that?" Shawn asked.

"Don't know, but since my partners are already going to leave, we'll check top side and come back to you if something happened." Terashi said as he and his team left through a door that lead up some stairs leading to the outside.

"That went well." Isabella stated.

"They're going to help us in battle if needed. I'm not sure if our army will be enough, we've only been training for a couple days." Chris said.

"We'll be fine Chris, Good always prevails over Evil right?" Isabella said.

"I hope so, I really do." Chris replied. Seconds later Keiko stormed back into the room.

"Uh… Chris?"

"What is it Keiko?"

"Follow me, I have something to show you?" she said moving closer him.

"What is it Keiko?"

"NO TIME!" She screamed.

"Wha-" Keiko grabbed his arm and pulled him from his seat and started bringing him to the door that she entered some seconds ago. She turned her head to the others and spoke.

"Come on, this involves you guys too." The others started following. Keiko and Chris with and others behind them climb the cobblestone stairs and reached the wooden button, Chris pushed it and the entrance was revealed.

"What happened." Achilles said.

"You'll see." She replied. They exited the base and closed it behind them. Chris suddenly smelled smoke in the air.

"Why do I smell smoke Keiko?" Chris was getting anxious.

"We don't have time to discuss about it, follow me!" She turned heel and ran into the forest toward Trenton.

"What do you think happened Chris?" Shawn asked.

"Don't know, but it can't be good. COME ON LETS GO." He yelled then started running, with his troops behind him.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Eleven minutes of running and the group had caught up with Keiko and was closer to Trenton, they couldn't see Trenton itself, but the smoke smell in the air was more apparent, Chris could actually _SEE _the smoke. Chris couldn't help but think the worst of this situation. Soon he say the rest of the Ultima Guard crouched behind the last of the trees in the forest. When I got a visible sight of Trenton he was horrified to what he witnessed.

Destrution. Trenton was in flames. Innocents were being killed.

Chris was furious to no end.

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED HERE! WHY ARE THEY HERE? THEY'RE TOO EARLY FOR THIS." Chris screamed.

"Don't really know why?" Terashi said as he poked his head out the side of the tree to get a better sight on the enemy.

"THEY SHOULDN'T BE HERE NOW WHAT THE HELL HAP-" Chris stopped himself. "How long was I out when you knocked me out the first time?" Chris asked.

"I don't know, two or three days maybe." Terashi said.

"TWO OR THREE DAYS, WHAT THE FUCK! HOW DID MY ARMY NOT NOTICE?!"

"They did. We barricaded them in their barracks with no weapons or armor."

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!"

"Calm down Chris, they thought that we were the enemy." Achilles said.

"Calm down, CALM DOWN. INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE DYING OUT THERE! All of you, go unbarricade the soldiers room and weaponize them, we have a war to fight." He ordered, they left seconds after.

"What have you guys planned?" Chris asked.

"We've been ordered by Terashi to stay until the rest of your army arrives, we need more man power." James stated.

"Ordered to stay!? Every second we stay another person dies!"

"Would you shut up already?!" Chaos yelled back. Chris angrily groaned.

_"I don't have time for this, Taria could be dead by now." _Chris moved over, and was standing behind Chaos. Chris quickly took his strange sword that was on his back when he wasn't looking.

"Hey, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING YOU PIECE OF SH-!" Chaos yelled, but then Chris punched him in the face with a large amount of force, knocking him unconscious and he fell to the ground.

"What is the meaning of this Chris?!" Keiko asked.

"If you guys won't help me, then I'll go alone!" He yelled and started running toward the burning town.

"Wait! You can't go alone. You'll get killed!" Alexia yelled, trying to change Chris' mind, without success.

"Well, it's better than just staying here and doing nothing." Chris turned and resumed running into town. Not knowing what could happen, but he has to try to save the one he loves, and also his friends.

**Finally I'm done. Well thanks for reading, Oh and I forgot to mention that Shawn Masterson was Peacemaker78550's OC, You get credit for that. :D Again sorry if other viewers didn't see their OCs in this Chapter but you'll see them in this story soon. J**

**And always remember to… REVIEW! (Reviews I like :D) :3 See you guys later.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Holy Fack, I almost forgot to keep continuing this story. First two weeks after Chapter 7, I was pretty lazy and started derping in MineZ and Call of Duty xD. Sorry for the long wait. :3**

_(/\/\/\/\/\) __**(Recap from Chapter 7, just in case you forgot something :D)**_

_"I don't have time for this, Taria could be dead by now." Chris moved over, and was standing behind Chaos. Chris quickly took his strange sword that was on his back when he wasn't looking._

_"Hey, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING YOU PIECE OF SH-!" Chaos yelled, but then Chris punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious._

_"What is the meaning of this Chris?!" Keiko asked._

_"If you guys won't help me, then I'll go alone!" He yelled and started running toward the burning town._

_"Wait! You can't go alone. You'll get killed!" Alexia yelled, trying to change Chris' mind, without success._

_"Well, it's better than just staying here and doing nothing." Chris turned and resumed running into town. Not knowing what could happen, but he has to try to save the one he loves, and also his friends._

(/\/\/\/\/\) **(Current time)**

Stealthy running to and jumping over Trenton's front gate, Chris was finally inside the property of Trenton. Chris quickly moved over to a nearby house and crouched down to conceal him and the shadows. Looking around, he saw a window right above him. Large enough for a person to slip through, which could be used as a way to progress farther into the town without bringing more attention onto himself, just as long as an enemy soldier isn't inside. He stood up and tried to open it, but it was locked. So Chris bashed the window pane with his elbow, and jumped in.

There were chairs and couches placed near the painted blue walls, and one large painting on the north side of the room. It was a portrait of a family. A mom, a dad and a daughter, no older than fourteen or fifteen. From what Chris could see, he was in the living room of this particular house. This house had no evidence of a break in, so the chance of soldiers being inside was slim, he still didn't like those odds though. He could still hear explosions and the screams of agony of the town's people outside. Chris moved over to the back to with the intention to leave, until he heard a muffled cry from a room another floor above him. With curiosity getting the best of him, he moved away from the door and started looking for a way to ascend to the upper floor.

Soon Chris found some stairs. He walked up them to find more doors leading to more rooms. He heard another muffled whimper from behind a door to his right. He silently moved over to the door and pressed his ear to it, trying to hear the noise again, but nothing came. Losing his patience, he slowly opened the wooden door. He looked around, there was a large bed to the right. He was in the master bedroom, suddenly he heard another whimper from the closet a couple feet from the bed. He moved closer to it, and looked inside. Not much was out of place, cloths were hanging on a rack. But when he looked down, he saw a pile of cloths. They were also moving a little. He grabbed the fabric of some of the cloths and pulled them from pile, sword in hand just in case.

When some of the cloths were moved away, he saw that there was someone hiding in the cloths pile. It was a girl, the same girl from the portrait in the living room that was downstairs.

"AHHH! Please, don't kill me!" The girl screamed while backing up to the corner. She had golden blond hair that stayed at her shoulders, stood at 5'2'' with hazel eyes.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hey I'm friendly. I'm not here to hurt you." He said and dropped the sword and held his hands up to signify no threat.

"R-really?" She said while moved her head to look at him. Chris got down one one knee to be at the girls' level

"Yeah, I'm here to help. What happened here?" He said and offered a hand, which she skeptically accepted, and he helped her to her feet.

"M-my parents left to get groceries earlier, and put me in charge of the house while they're gone. But soon after t-they left here, all this…" She walked to a nearby window and started looking out of it, seeing all the destruction. "…started happening, and they never came back." Chris picked his sword back up and walked over to the girl.

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy out there." Chris said.

"Why are you even in my house?" She suddenly, Chris rubbed the back of his head.

"Uh, I was using this particular house to find a way around the enemy while still retaining my incognito status. Sorry if I scared you." She looked back at Chris.

"That's ok, just as long as you don't try anything, ok?"

"Yeah, will I'm going to get out of your hair." He replied and turned around and started to walk away.

"Wait!" She suddenly yelled.

"What is it? I don't have much time to spend here so make it quick." He turned back to look at her.

"C-can you take me with you, my parents could still be out there. I what to find them… I would be lost without them." She was trembling on the inside.

"I think it would be safer for you to stay here, If they're alive I'll try to find them."

"Please? I don't know what I would do if I lost them." She said and started to cry.

"Fine, but stay close to me and stay quiet, I don't want to have another death on my hands."

"O-ok."

"Now, follow me and do what I do." Chris stated and left with the girl downstairs, and out the back door. The two were now in the back yard of the house property, the smell of blood in the air was more potent than before, Chris was still holding hope in his heart that Taria and the others aren't in the dead count. Currently there were no enemies near them for now so they were safe for the moment. Crouching down they slowly progressed though the town without attracting too much attention to themselves. Three minutes into the mission the girl spoke.

"I never did get your name stranger." She said from behind him.

"Chris."

"Ah, my mom has told me a lot about you. And my name is Alice." She replied.

"Well nice to meet you Alice."

"You said you're trying to help right?" She asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" He stopped moving and turned around and looked at her.

"I mean no disrespect but, what can you do just by yourself." It took some moments before Chris would say anything back.

"I have an entire army at my command, but their departure has been delayed for some time, it's just me out here for now."

"JUST YOU…! Either you're really brave or really stupid."

"Hey, when you're in love you do crazy things." He said with a smirk.

"Your loved one is in that shit fest?" She said.

"Yeah somewhere, and so is my other friends, and hopefully your parents. If they're alive we'll find th-…" Suddenly an arrow came flying and embedded into Chris' shoulder.

"AHHH!" He fell to the ground clutching his shoulder, Chris and Alice quick looked to their left to see who fired that arrow, it was an enemy soldier.

_"Damn, he must've followed us."_ Chris thought. The enemy had iron armor covering most of his body. His weaponry was standard for an archer: A bow and an iron sword for close range battles. The man reloaded another arrow, and aimed it at Alice.

"AHH! Don't shoot!" She yelled as she put her hands up, but Chris knew that the soldier wouldn't listen, so he had to take matters into his own hands. Tightening the grip on his sword, he quickly got up from the ground and launched an attack on the soldier trying to slash at him. Which proved ineffective, the chain that covered the diamond sword blocked most of the damage. Seeing that he wasn't hurt, the soldier pulled his fist back and threw a powerful punch to Chris' face, sending him to the ground again and dropping his weapon. The soldier pulled out his sword and pointed it at Chris' face.

"Give up and come with me, and I might left you live." The man said. With adrenaline pumping though his veins he grabbed the enemy's sword with his bare hand to keep it from moving. Then he punched the man in the jaw, he was stunned and stammered back, pulling his sword with him and cutting Chris' hand even deeper, but he didn't care, Chris had to kill this man before others would show up and capture him. He looked back to the diamond sword he dropped and picked it back up again.

Turning back to his current opponent, he readied himself. The man had recovered, and swung and Chris, but he parried the attack. Chris lifted his leg and roundhouse kicked the soldier in the side of the head, which would've been more effective if he wore no helmet, it only served as a way to stun him, which left him time for an attack. He slashed at the soldier, but the chain was still getting in the way.

_"Damn, these attacks are getting me no where, if I take too long others will find us. I have to end this fast." _Chris though as he was punched in the stomach. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw Alice move up behind the soldier.

"ALICE, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Chris shouted at her to getting her attention, but she had her mind made up. She jumped onto the man from behind and covered his eyes to give Chris time to kill him, Chris stammered back up but moments later the man threw her off and she landed onto the ground with a thud, she let out a painful groan and tried to get up, but the soldier put a foot on her chest keeping her on the ground, then he rose his sword with the intent to kill.

Before the man could kill her, Chris quickly stood up and tackled him to the ground. Chris tried to throw a punch but he was kicked off and sent a few feet away were his sword was located. He turned his head and picked up the weapon. Examining the sword farther Chris could see that the hilt wasn't normal, with farther examination he saw that the hilt was a red stone torch, with a button on the pommel.

_"Strange." _Chris thought. The enemy prepared to strike again, but was meet with a block. The man still applying pressure on the diamond sword, hoping that either that Chris' strength would give out or the sword would break. The iron sword was coming dangerously close to Chris' face, he was running out of options, he only had one left.

_"Well… here goes nothing."_ Chris then pressed the button on the pommel with his thumb, hoping it would do something. After a few moments, the iron chain that covered the sword started moving. The speed of that chain increase to the point that sparks were flying everywhere. The sword was emitting very loud revving sounds that everyone in town that was alive could hear. The speed of the chain was so fast that it cut through the enemy's sword like it was butter. The man stammered back and looked at his sword with fear.

"What the fuck did you do to my sword?!" He yelled. Chris stood up and groaned from the pain in his shoulder, then spoke.

"You shouldn't be worrying about that right now." The man quickly pulled out his bow and an arrow, and fired, but Chris sidestepped out of the way and started running to the man with sword on hand. Chris was three feet in front of the enemy as he raised his sword and brought it down on the man. The sword hit his armor at the left shoulder plate and started slowly cutting through it. Sparks and blood started going anywhere, the man could even scream in pain as the sword was being pulled down through his chest area, then finally out his left side. The upper part of the torso Chris had cut of fell to the ground as well as the rest of his body, his guts fell out of his body in a heap and a pool of blood quickly formed. After examining the damage he just rot upon the man he spoke.

"I've got to get myself one of these." He said with a smile.

Chris himself was covered with the enemy's blood, which he couldn't get rid of. He quickly pulled out the arrow in his shoulder, and winced from the pain. He looked over to the girl who was just starting to stand up.

"You ok Alice?" Chris asked as he walked over to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you?" She said and brushed herself off.

"I'll live." He replied.

"So what happened to the-" She stopped her herself as she caught sight of the carcass behind Chris. "You killed him? It stinks! I thick I'm going to vomit."

"That's want happens in war kid, you just have to get used to it. Now we have to leave before anyone else rears their ugly heads. Follow me, if I know this place right, there should be a graveyard here, there shouldn't be any people there, so there shouldn't be any soldiers. From the graveyard we go to the Red Star Hospital and go from there, while staying out of sight of the enemies. But we have to move now, people are dying out here, we don't have time to waste."

"O-ok." Chris left continuing on the mission with the girl now following. Soon after they left, the other soldiers found the body.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Chris and Alice were just outside the graveyard area, but it was infested with soldiers. For a reason Chris could not understand.

_"Damn, they must've known that I would be coming here."_

"Well what are we going to do now?" Alice asked, staying in the tall grass.

"Don't know, I was going to use this place to cut into town. Hmm… Not sure of what I should do here."

"I-I think we're out of options here Chris." Suddenly Chris and Alice heard sounds coming from the town, the sounds of someone fighting off the soldiers.

"Don't say that just yet Alice."

"What are you planning now?"

"We should head into town."

"WHAT!" She yelled slightly

"Hey keep your voice down, my army will hopefully arrive soon. Until then, I think we should help that the people defend. Listen, they already have others trying fight back. "

"I guess you're right, but what will I do?"

"Nothing."

"What! Chris I want to help. Is it because I'm too young? Or is it because I'm a girl?"

"None of those reasons. You are untrained. You'll be gutted like a fish within a minute, maybe less. And we certainly _do not_ have the time to train you." After he said that she felt like throwing up again, but shrugged it off.

"Oh, I guess you're right on that one to, but how will you even get in?" She said frowning.

"This sword I have here can cut through iron like a hot knife through butter, I think I'll be fine." He said.

"B-but you are seriously outnumbered here, you could die."

"Every second we wait another person will die a horrible death. And I'm not going to do this by myself, there is others fighting out there… I have to help them, and rescue anyone I can while doing it."

"If people are dying as we speak, then why don't we go back now?"

"We are, come on!" He stood up and turned back toward town, with the girl following. Leaving the graveyard.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Chris and Alice have been going navigating the town silently for six minutes trying to find the men and/or women that were fighting back against the soldiers who were trying to destroy Trenton, but haven't found them. Until a large explosion that came from the local church.

"What was that?" Alice asked.

"That could be the rebels."

_"Hopefully Taria is ok."_ Chris looked over to the church from behind a bush, Monster Hunter soldiers were pouring into the church from the front. Most of the glass windows were broken and shattered, and the light posts near the building were the only thing illuminating the area. Someone from inside the church was shooting at them with great accuracy, arrows hit them right in the face were their armor couldn't protect, but he could see who or how many there was. The soldiers didn't stop their advance into the church, soon the people inside would be overwhelmed and be killed.

"Alice do you go to church?" Chris asked out of the blue.

"Yeah, before this ahapend once a week with my parents. Why?"

"Is there a way to get into the church other then the front door?" Alice was silent for a few seconds before she replied to him.

"Umm… There is a door on the left side of the church near the end. It is a door that leads to the janitors closet, form there you can basically go anywhere in the church from there."

"When I get inside, I'm go-"

" 'When I'? What about me?"

"It's too dangerous for you in there, you stay here. I'm going alone."

"B-but my parents could be in there. My dad has been in battles, he is a valiant warrior. He and mom could be in there." She said with tears in her eyes.

"Enough! You're staying and that's final." He said with slight irritation in his voice.

"I'm not staying here!" She yelled.

_"I don't have time for this." _Chris thought, then replied to her after a couple seconds. "Ok fine, you can come. But if you get hurt, don't cry to me." He said coldly.

"I can take care of myself."

"We don't have time to talk about this. Come on, or I'm leaving you behind." The two proceeded to take a route that goes around back to the janitor's door at the end of the church that Alice had described. He slowly opened the wooden door and entered. Just like Alice said, there was many cleaning products that the janitor uses, he is probably dead though. He looked around, and found the door leading out to the rest of the church.

"I never went to church, were to now Alice?" Chris asked.

"If the prayer room is where the rebels are, we need to head up the main hall, then the nearest door on the right."

"Ok." They ran out the door and found the main hall like Alice said. Chris could hear the sounds of battle some meters away. He and Alice ran through the hall and got to a set of doors.

"Nearest door to the right, right?" Chris asked to clarify.

"Yeah." A split second later Chris bashed opened the door. He looked to the left to see the some people trying to defend the church with their lives, he counted about seven: one archer, two swordsman and the others were just normal civilians, but sadly Taria wasn't here. The archer was shooting arrows into the group of Monster Hunter soldiers, while the two swordsmen were holding of the mass of enemies. Chris turned to Alice then spoke.

"Alice, you go with the civvies. I'll help at the entrance. Not all of the soldiers should be at this spot, they will stop coming at some point."

"Ok." She ran off to the civilians hiding behind the counter. Chris turned to and ran up to the other warriors, and started slashing at the crowd of iron clad men trying to enter the cathedral. With his strange sword in hand he cleaved into the bodies with ease. Swiftly stabbing and cutting at them, but their cries of pain rang on deaf ears. But Chris and the other two were starting to get overwhelmed with the sheer number of enemies that was coming through the doors. One suddenly jumped out from the rest with a war cry and stabbed Chris' fellow swordsman to his right through the chest. He wasn't wearing any armor to protect himself or lessen the damage, so he died, and then fell to the ground.

_"Damn it."_ Chris thought as he used his special sword and quickly dismembered the man to pieces. The bodies of the soldiers started to pile up, Chris turned back to his current fight. Continuing to run through the lives of his enemies, soon the numbers of the soldiers started to dwindle to low numbers. There was only three left, normal men would've turned and ran away, but these didn't. The archer behind them shot the soldier in the middle of the two straight in eye, into his brain, he fell to the ground dead. The other two men looked at each other, then turned on their heels and ran away, probably to call reinforcements. Chris turned to the warrior he was currently helping.

"We have to stop them! We can't let them call others!" Chris and the other man ran out of the church. They faced left to see the fleeing soldiers. Chris and his fellow soldier ran as fast as they could, soon after a few moments, Chris was right behind the one he was going to kill. To lose more distance between him and his target, Chris jumped at the enemy and landed on his back, then Chris used his sword and decapitated and soldier, his head started to roll forward. Chris looked up to see that his fellow warrior has killed the other soldier in the same way. Chris stood up from the dead body and walked to the man.

"That should be the rest of them in this area of town for now." Chris stated.

"Hopefully, thanks for the help. We might not have survived."

"No problem man, I'm just trying to help. Let's get back to the others at the cathedral.

"Yeah." The two turned around and started walking back to the church.

"What's your name?" The other man asked.

"Chris."

"Deric Green." This man was slightly taller than Chris at 6'3''. Emerald green eyes and short dark brown hair. He was currently wearing full leather armor to protect himself against physical attacks, and fairly muscular. He also looked to be around twenty-one years of age. Soon they returned to the cathedral, and they walked past rows of chairs, up to the rest of the survivors of the massacre.

"Are they gone?" One of the civilians, the pastor asked.

"Yeah for now, but I would like you meet Chris, the man who helped us." Deric said. The pastor stood forward.

"My name is Frank Hennings." The pastor wasn't very tall, about 5'6''. He also looked fairly aged, grey hair and wrinkles on his smiling face. He looked to be around middle to late fifties or sixties, and had electric blue eyes.

"You're welcome." The next man stepped forward, but he was carrying someone on his back, it was a girl how was clearly unconscious. It was Claire on his back.

"What happened to Claire?" Chris asked.

"You know her?" The man asked.

"She's a friend of someone I know, how do you know her?"

"I've been around, she is a friend of mine also. Well I don't really know what happened to her I just found her unconscious in her own home, probably fainted from the shock of this current event." He said bluntly.

"Well, is she ok?"

"Yeah, she's still breathing. Anyway, my name is Israel Jacobs, nice to meet you." The guy was a little bit shorter taller than the pastor at 5'9''. He looked to be around early twenties or late adolescence, brown eyes and jet black hair.

"Thanks for the help man, I would shake your hand if I could." Jacobs said.

"That's ok." He next person stood up, it was a woman, how looked to be thirty-five, Alice stood right behind her, this woman looked familiar to Chris.

"Thank you for giving my daughter back to me, I thought see was dead." She said with a face-splitting smile.

"Alice is yours?" He asked.

"Yes she is, thanks again. And my name is Rebecca Jones." This woman was fairly tall at 6'1''. Green eyes and curly chocolate brown hair that rested at her shoulders.

"You're welcome Rebecca." Deric walked up to Chris.

"And I would like you to meet a very close friend of mine, Eve." Chris turned his head to see Deric's friend.

"H-… Hi." She said.

_"Pretty shy is she."_ Chris thought. This woman is about as tall as Taria at 5'6''. She was slightly pale, with cloud white hair and blood red eyes, which was abnormal from a normal person but Chris wouldn't judge people who are like this. She looked to be a year younger then Deric. He suddenly saw… something, behind her. Chris leaned his head to the right to get a better look at it.

It was a small 2 and a half foot tall, with an arrowhead tip.

"Uh… ok. We should leave now. The rest of the soldiers could be here soon when they figure out that a large amount of their men are dead." Chris turned around and started walked toward the exit, pushing dead bodies out of the way. Deric quickly walked to Chris from the group and spoke.

"So, uh… you saw her tail right? You didn't say anything about it, why?"

"I don't judge people from what they look like, there is nothing wrong with her. If may be different, but that wouldn't make her any less of a person... Has she been ridiculed for it?"

"Yes, a lot." Deric sadly said.

"Hmm. You protect her?"

"Yeah, with my life if it is needed." He proudly said.

_"It's like me and Taria, this guy reminds me of me." _Chris thought. "Do you love her?" Chris suddenly said, taking Deric off guard, he started blushing furiously.

"I-I… yeah, I do."

_"That's what I thought."_ Chris thought

"Does she know it? And how long have you known her." Chris asked.

"N-no, she doesn't know I love her, I don't have the courage to tell her. And we have known each other for three years." He said still as red as a tomato.

"You protect her with your live, and you love her, looking past what she looks like or what she is. You, my friend know, what it truly means to be human. I commend you for that knowledge."

"Well, thank you. But, it sounds like you're saying all this from experience. Do you…?"

"Yes."

"Oh, where is she? I would like to meet her."

"That's what I'm trying to find out. She is somewhere out there. Would you've happened to see her on your way here, she is really… um, green, you couldn't miss her."

"No, but earlier I saw soldiers executing civilians at the center of town while we were trying to escape. If she's anywhere, she is there."

"Damn, I don't want to lose her."

"I know the feeling bud." Deric patted Chris' shoulder, reassuringly. "Ok everyone, we heading out." Chris and Deric moved to the doors and exited the church, with the group following, Eve quickly moved to Deric's right side. Alice and her mother stayed close together. Jacobs was still carrying Claire on his back, and the pastor was also following, close behind Chris, they were moving around the parts of town that were soldier free, near a blacksmith building.

"First we head to the town's center and try to save as much people as we can then find a quick way out of Trenton, my army may be too late to do much here."

"We're going to the center of town? I think we should just hightail it out of here." Israel said.

"I sorta agree with him, I want to get Eve out of this deathfield." Deric said.

"Are you daft Deric? I _AM _getting Taria back, even if I have to go alone."

"Is that her name Chris? The one you love?"

"Yes, yes it is." Chris replied.

"Fine… I'll help you find her, I'll help you like you've helped me." Deric finally said.

"Thanks, I'll need all the manpower I can get for now."

"Let's not waste time then, let's go." Deric said as he ran to the next destination, with everyone following.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Six minutes of silent maneuvering later, Chris and the others were just outside the towns center, behind a large leafy bush. Just like Deric said, they were executing civilians, but the style of it was old school, the method of execution was the guillotine. Suddenly a person just got decapitated, right in front of the children and adults who were in line to be next. Chris' blood boiled, he stood but from the bush to stop this madness, but Deric grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Do you have a death wish Chris? There must be like seventy soldiers out there."

"I don't care, I have to do something."

"I respect your bravery, but that is just crazy." Hennings said.

"And you should already know that I don't give a fuck, I'm going." Chris suddenly said. He tried moving but Deric was still holding him back.

"Do you have a death wish Chris?!" Deric asked/yelled, moments later another person has been killed by decapitation, then thrown into a large fire to burn the body away.

"You see what I mean! We have to do something before more people die!" Chris yelled.

"I… I s-sort of a-agree with Chris." Eve said from behind everyone. Deric sighed.

"Fine. Chris, Israel and I will go, but the rest of you leave town for now, if we get out of this situation, meet back at the entrance of town. Got it?" He received a collective yes. Israel put Claire down on the grassy floor, and proceeded to leave with the others. The center of town was filled to the brim with enemy soldiers, from swordsmen and archers, spearman, you name it. The soldiers stood in a large circle around the guillotine, laughing as more people were slaughtered. Chris' face was red with anger, he was so angry he didn't know what to do. Chris, Israel and Deric were concealed by the shadow of a large building, they were located near the edge of the current objective by about 50 meters, Chris and the others were still incognito among the enemies. There were two chain armor spearmen right in front of Chris and Deric. Israel had given the two small daggers for close quarters combat. Both Chris and Deric stood up from the shadows and simultaneously stabbed the backs of the soldier's necks, killing them, then dragged the bodies in the shadows.

"Hey, I got an idea." Deric said suddenly.

"What?" Both Chris and Israel asked.

"I think it would be a good idea to put on their uniforms, and use their armor and weapons, we can slip in undetected."

"That's a great Idea, but there's two problems." Jacobs said.

"What? I think it's perfect." Deric replied.

"First off, we only have two uniforms. And second, the helmet doesn't cover most of the face, they'll most likely spot you on the first sight."

"Maybe, but that is a chance I'm willing to take. Deric and I will put on the uniforms and armor, you Israel, will provide cover from a distance if anything goes wrong."

"Roger." Jacobs replied, and then he walked over to a fence, and climbed it up to the roof right above Chris and Deric. They added the standard Monster Hunter uniform, then added the iron armor, they were now one of them on their outside appearance.

"Now, that we are disguised, what is the plan?" Deric asked while readjusting his helmet.

"Well… I guess we walk through everything, get close enough to the guillotine and somehow disable it, and then hopefully the confusion should leave enough time for my army to arrive."

"Any back up plans if we get caught?" He asked.

"If on the off chance we get discovered, we fight, we fight for our lives. We fight for the lives of others, we fight till we die. I am willing to do that for the one I love, are you?"

"Yes. Eve means the world to me."

"Good, come on." He said as he entered the crowd of iron and chain clad soldiers, with disguised Deric following behind. The two moved through the crowd, it didn't seem that the other soldiers took notice of the two that had infiltrated their ranks.

"I can't believe this is working. But if we're caught, we're dead meat." Deric quietly said from the right of Chris as he bumped against someone else.

"Just keep quiet and stay close to me, don't want to drag anymore attention to us now do we?" Many steppes later, Chris and Deric stood twenty-five feet away from the guillotine, but couldn't get any closer, walking out of the circle of men surrounding the murderous device would call suspicion onto themselves. They stood still and tried to devise a plan, to no a vile. Until one of the soldiers next to Chris said something: "We finally found her." He suddenly said and said it quietly, barely a whisper, but Chris still heard it.

"We found who?" Chris asked the soldier, he changed his voice to a low gruffly kind of voice so no-one will know who he is just by identifying his voice.

"We finally found the freak, see for yourself, she is next in line for execution." He said pointing at the front of the line. Chris was hoping that we was lying or was mistaken, but unfortunately for him, he wasn't. There she was, in shackles and a rope tied around her neck to pull her to the guillotine, they were treating her like an animal! She was crying, and bleeding from many places, her body was fidgeting from loss of blood, and also fear. Chris felt helpless, he couldn't do anything to stop this madness. He balled his hands into fists until his finger nails dug into his palms and his knuckles turned white, he couldn't think clearly from the rage inside him. Taria was pushed down, and positioned under the blade of the device. Chris looked over to the left to see Chandler in some sort of throne, watching over everything. Chris didn't have any plans, Chris didn't know what to do, then he looked down in defeat. Deric looked at Chris and slapped him in the face.

"Are you admitting defeat Chris!? I thought you were better than that, you yourself told me you were willing to fight till the end! And I'll be damned if you just stand by and just watch this… this… this injustice! The one you love is going to be executed Chris, what do you have to say about that!? Hmm!?" Chris knew on the inside that Deric was right, there was no way out of this fight, he will try to save Taria and the others, he was going to step out of the circle with the intent to do everything in his power to save her, until he saw something out of the corner of his eye. To get a better look he turned his head. He saw a person on a roof looking back at Chris, it was Terashi, and more of the Ultima guard started to pop up with him on the roof until all were present and accounted for. Chris looked to the right to see another rooftop, other familiar iron clad soldier popped up from that roof, it was Logan, then the other came up from behind him, Isabella, Achilles, Shawn, Abraham and the rest.

_"Does this mean that my army is here?"_ Chris thought. Chris look around everywhere, there they were, his soldiers were hiding behind buildings, in bushes and on roofs, surrounding this place. Waiting for a command.

_"Thank the heavens, they're here."_ Chris thought, with a sigh of relief. He turned his attention back to the guillotine, the executioner was about to pull the switch the actives the device.

"WAIT!" Chris yelled. Everyone in area looked at him, even Taria looked up to see him.

"What is it soldier?" Chandler asked from his 'throne'.

"We have been searching for this… freak for a long time." He hated saying that, but he had to. "She doesn't deserve a quick death, we should kill her slowly and painfully." Chandler rubbed his chin, contemplating.

"You're right, get her out of that and bring her to me." He said. Two soldiers removed her from the device, then they picked her up dragged her closer to Chandler. Chris hoped that if when she was out of the killing machine, he thought that it would spare enough time to think up a plan. Chandler grabbed his diamond sword from his sheath that was connected to his hip. Taria was on her knees right in front of him, crying.

_"What should I do?!" _Chris thought. He was about to run his sword into her stomach, but he stopped for some reason.

"Hey, 'soldier' come here." Chandler ordered, putting more emphasis on the word 'soldier'. Chris didn't like having to follow this man's orders but he had to, to keep up the charade.

"Wish me luck Deric." Chris said before he left.

"Yeah, don't die." He replied. Chris walked fifteen feet to Taria and Chandler_. "What are you planning Chandler?"_ Chris thought to himself.

"Since it was your idea, I think you should do it." Chandler said with a sinister smile. "Don't you think you can do it, can you, Chris?" He said quietly enough for only the two to hear.

"H- how did yo-"

"I'm not stupid Chris. You gave yourself away the moment you opened your mouth to abject to the freak's murder. Also my chain spearmen are some of my most trusted soldiers, I ordered them to stay at the back of the crowd, not at the front."

"…" Chris stayed silent.

"Look over there Chris." He pointed to his right. Chris was wide-eyed to see that everyone he helped back in the church had been captured. Soldiers restrained them with swords and spears to their necks.

"How do you know about them?" Chris hissed quietly. Chris' hatred for this man grew even more. What was even more puzzling is that how he found the others so easily.

"I didn't know about them until shortly eariler, my soldiers going around town trying to find other survivors, found them. Since I knew that no-one in Trenton could really defend themselves, there was a chance that they were connected to you in some why. So I ordered my man to interrogate them, but it was no use, you have already presented yourself to me, how nice of you." He said. Chris wanted to punch Chandler's lights out, but the other soldiers still think that he is on their side, so he couldn't.

"Just to be a good sport, I will give you two choices." Chandler said with his usual sadistic smile.

"…What?" Chris said hesitantly.

"Ok, you'll have two choices, you kill Taria in cold blood, making it as slow and painful as you can, and I spare the lives of those people I have in my custody, and you come with me."

"And the other option?" Chris didn't think the second choice would be any different from the first.

"The _freak_ and the others still get horribly and painfully slaughtered, and you come with me, in chains." He said bluntly.

"Those are impossible chooses!" He yelled quietly.

"I know, only beneficial to me of course."

"How ca-… wait, you said that I come with you, didn't you come here to kill me?" He asked, he was quite puzzled by this.

"Well yes, but on the way here Herobrine's plan have changed. I don't even know myself why he needs you, if I had my way you would be cold dead copse in a deep dark hole right now." He walked away from Chris and addressed his soldiers.

"Now, who wants to watch this freak get murdered!" He yelled to his army, happily. Chris was now disgusted with the man. He turned back to Chris, who was still some feet away.

"Now, my loyal spearman, kill her! Slow and painfully. Oh, I will enjoy this." He said with a happy chuckle while he stepped back into his throne.

_"I guess this is where the shit gets serious."_ Chris thought then looked down at Taria. He was quivering, her head pointed to the ground. She accepted her fate.

_"She must've given up hope that I would come to save her."_ Chris thought sadly. Chris looked around to find that his archers on the roofs had their bows aimed at Chandler and the Monster Hunter soldiers, and the ones holding the civilian's hostage the whole time, and his foot soldiers hiding behind many buildings, poised for an attack. They just have to be ordered to do so. Chris lifted his spear toward Taria, she closed her eyes and braced for what she thought was her death.

"DO IT! KILL HER!" Most of the Monster Hunter soldier and Chandler chanted. But that wasn't going to happen, not while Chris was still breathing. He drove his spear into the ground inches away from Taria's face. The soldiers started murmuring indistinctively.

"Why do you cease Chris, KILL HER, DAMN IT!" Chandler yelled/ordered.

"C-Chris?" Taria quietly said, looking up at him. "I-Is that you?"

"I'm not a murderer, I protect the innocent." He said ignoring Taria's question, then he suddenly threw his spear like a javelin towards Chandler, with the spear flying true, it pierced into Chandlers left shoulder, only harming him. But Chris was trying to aim for the neck or head.

"AHHHH! YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!" He yelled, all the soldiers went wide-eyed. Chris turned to Taria and he gently picked her up bridal style, her blood was soaking through his cloths but he could care less, as long as Taria made it out alive.

"INFERNIA SOLDIERS! ATTACK!" Chris yelled.

Arrows went flying, swords clashing. All hell broke loose.

**I'm finally done with this chapter. :D I had to pull an all-nighter for this one. Now I will take a moment to thank you all for sticking around for this story, it warms my heart to know you guys, the viewers, like this story. I put a lot of work into this. :3 Anyway thanks for reading.**

**Oh… AND REMEMBER TO FAV, FOLLOW, REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**I lost my inspiration for a little bit, sorry for the wait. **

(/\/\/\/\/\)

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" Chris yelled to his friends that were being held captive, the soldiers weren't holding them from the earlier confusion. They ducked just as the arrows killed their captors. Infernia soldiers started pouring in the area running by Chris and the others. While gently cradling Taria in his arms, he quickly ran over to Adrian.

"Get her to medical!" He was just about the hand her over but he was interrupted by a whimpering voice.

"N…no, w-wait." It was Taria.

"What?" Chris questioned as he ducked from another random arrow.

"I… I-I want to f-fight."

"Wha-what makes you think I'm going to let your fight in this war? In you condition?! HELL NO!"

"I-I'm not going to let these… these… bastards get away with what they have d-done. All the innocent people they've killed…" She started coughing up blood. She was still struggling to take in another breath.

"All you're going to do is rest. It's not a request it's an order… I don't want you to get anymore hurt then you already are." He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"J-Just stay safe… P-Please, I don't want to lose you like this." She said as she was put in Adrian's care.

"I'll be fine, I've gone this far haven't I? I'll be back soon."

_I hope so…_

Chris didn't really like leaving her like this, enemy soldiers could flank around and kill her and Adrian, but he has a war to fight, and people to protect. He turned around to see Chaos rush up to him.

"GIVE ME BACK MY FUCKING SWORD! YOU THIEF!" He yelled.

"Ok, Ok." He handed the sword over, and received a punch to the face.

"Ouch, I guess I disserved that."

"That'll teach ya. Don't do it again, or I'll kill you." Chris rubbed the small bruise on his left cheek. "Well anyway Terashi wanted to talk to you." Terashi and his wife walked closer.

"Well it seems you weren't lying about the whole situation. You're off the hook." Terashi said.

"Uh… thanks but shouldn't we be fighting right now." He said, then someone screamed and an explosion erupted in the distance. Many of the civilians ran away from the battle, some survived, some got shot by a random arrow from the enemy.

"Your Infernia soldiers have pushed back the Monster Hunters toward the Northeast edge of the city, their numbers are slowly dwindling, and soon they may have to fall back into the forest."

"And Chandler?" Chris was planning to kill Chandler himself from what he has done.

"We're not completely sure where he is, but we think he is being treated by his army's medical staff from the wound you gave him." Keiko said. "With that said, we should find Chandler as fast as we can, what drives an army is their morale. If their leader is captured or even killed, that will take some or all of their morale away. They won't have the courage to fight if their commander is gone." She finished as she threw her large war hammer over her shoulder.

"If that's the case, we should go now. First squad, report!" Chris said as the group moved up from behind Terashi and Keiko and saluted.

"At ease soldiers." Chris said, and then Isabella spoke up.

"An update on the fight sir."

"What do you have for me?"

"The enemy has fallen back into forest, Infernia soldiers are running in after them as we speak. And we have information on where their leader is hiding." This was his change to finally kill that bastard.

"Where… is… he?" He said with anger in his voice. Then Shawn started speaking.

"I started searching the surrounding area, I found a small tent half a mile from the southwest edge of forest. I didn't do inside to check, but if he is anywhere, he is probably there getting his shoulder patched up."

"We leave now, I want him to pay for what he has done."

"Sir?" Logan said, with a raised eyebrow.

"Isabella, I'm giving you temporary command while I'm gone, lead our army to victory."

"With pleasure, sir." She said as she turned and ran back to the fight.

"Logan, I want you to take the civilians to a safe place."

"Yes sir." He started rushing the people toward the church.

"Terashi, Chaos, Deric. I want you three to accompany me to the location where we think Chandler, I could use the help. He probably isn't alone."

"What about Eve?" Deric said with an arm around her, she blushed in response. He didn't let her go with the rest of the civvies, mostly because he didn't trust the soldiers to keep her safe.

"Fine… if you feel that way, you can stay." He started walking away toward the exit. He turned around again to look at the others.

"You two coming?" Chris asked. Terashi gave a simple nod.

"Yeah, why not? I could use a little action."

"Good." Chris replied

(/\/\/\/\/\)

"Man, we've been looking for fifteen damn minutes, I'd rather go back and fight my ass off then look fo-"

"Shut your trap Chaos, I've heard enough of your babbling." Terashi ordered. Neither Chris or Terashi liked Chaos' ranting, gets pretty annoying, he could go for hours and hours if no-one stopped him.

Suddenly a light in the distance caught Terashi's eye.

"Hey guys, stop." Terashi said to the others.

"What?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, what he said." Chaos said. Terashi pointed in the direction of the light, but they couldn't see any structures, to many trees in the way.

"Do you think that could be him?" Chris asked as they all crouched down and moved behind some trees for cover.

"There is a possibility, but with all of this happening I won't take the chance." Terashi replied.

"Let's bum rush it." Chaos blurted.

"No, at least not yet." The leader replied.

"Well why the hell no-" He was cut off as eight Monster Hunter soldiers appear all around them, they were wearing forest camouflage. They raised their bows, ready to shoot and kill.

_"Where the hell did they come from?" _Chris thought.

"Hands up!" One of them ordered. The three did as instructed.

"I was starting to think you weren't going to come, oh and you brought friends, how nice of you." A voice from behind said. Chris turned his head to see Chandler walking closer. A white blood stained bandage was wrapped around his shoulder.

"Thank you for making your deaths so easy." He said. "Soldiers, kill these men, we'll dispose off their bodies later after we destroy the city." They all pulled on their bows with the intent to kill. But suddenly a soldier fell to the ground, all the people in the area looked at the body, there was four arrows embedded into his back, blood spewed out of the corpse in the pints. The other Monster Hunter soldiers gasped and pointed their weapons in the direction the other arrows came from. It was too dark to know who or want did that.

"Reinforcements?" Terashi whispered at Chris

"I don't think so. I didn't call for any." He whispered back.

"Then what the hell is it?" Chaos whispered to both.

The three turned their attention to the darkness from where the arrows emerged. Another arrow sped from the blackness and impaled another soldier in the face, the forehead to be exact.

"What the hell!" "What's going on?!" Most of the soldiers said to each other. Chris could see a silhouette of what seemed like a woman hiding behind a tree, waiting for the next opportunity to strike.

_"Who is that?" _Chris pondered.

"Well I don't know what you guys are doing." Chaos continued. "But I'm going to fight." He said as he took out his sword and revved it up.

"I GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU BITCHES!" He yelled his battle cry as he stood up and cleaved through three enemy soldier's torsos, they fell to the ground, dead. The enemy soldiers started shooting their bows into the darkness of the trees and foliage, completely ignoring Chaos slaughtering their men from behind. Chandler, seeing that they were being overwhelmed took two of his soldiers and ran south, away from the battle. After Chaos kill the last soldier by decapitation, Chris turned around to see who gave them a good distraction. He looked around but no-one was there.

"Who or whatever you are. Thank you." He said his thanks to the mysterious person. But he saw someone approach from the corner of his eye, thinking it was another ambush, he grabbed a sword of the ground and pointed it in the person or persons direction.

"You're seriously pointing that weapon at the person who just saved you?" It was a feminine voice, and sounded extremely familiar. She was the one he saw earlier. She started walking closer and coming into view. The woman was wearing full gold armor, it is strange because it isn't as widely used as any other armor, breaks easier. There are some cracks here the there, but that's expected of it. Her helmet had a visor, concealing her face.

"Oh and…" She lifted her visor reveal her face. "You're welcome." It was Taria under all the armor.

"Wha… What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Hey, don't get snippy with me. You're the one that got ambushed and nearly executed." She countered, with a smirk.

"I told you to stay back."

"Like I said before, I can be a very stubborn woman when I want to be." She said as she stepped closer and planted a kiss on his left cheek, and then put her visor back down.

"I didn't know you could use a bow think that, you got good aim."

"Thanks, Louis taught me the basics of how to fight, and bow marksmanship. Just in case something like this happens, which has, unfortunately." She explained with a pout.

"Well, I'm just glad you're ok."

"Enough with the conversation. We have to catch up to Chandler and his goons before they get too far." Chaos said.

"I saw him head south, if he mapped this area will enough…" She trailed off.

"What is it?" Terashi said.

"He is probably heading to the old abandoned mine, a couple miles from here."

"Why is it abandoned, dare I ask?" Chris asked.

"The town used to get all of its resources from that mine. But after years of digging, the mine became to... uh, how you say, fragile. That mine is off limits, it's too dangerous for anyone to go down there, and it could cave-in at any moment and trap people inside."

"Then what make you think that Chandler would go there?" Terashi asked.

"Only a mad man would go there, so it's a perfect escape route. I remember exploring there one day… I got lost for a while. The end of the mine lets out in a lake not far from here. Chandler would think that no-one would follow him in, because of the constant danger."

"Should we go after him anyway?" Chris asked the group.

"It's really dangerous, I don't think we should go." Taria said.

"Hell yeah, I'm in. Danger is my middle name." Chaos quickly said.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Terashi stated.

"But if we just let him slip by, he'll come back with more forces. And this will start all over again." Chris interjected.

"He's right." Terashi said.

"So… are we going?" Taria asked.

"Yeah, but there is no guarantee that Chandler will be there." Terashi stated.

"…Ok. We head about two miles south and go down the mine, find him and fuck him up. That the plan?" Chaos asked.

"Affirmative. Taria, lead the way." Terashi said.

"Of course." She replied.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

With Taria at the front of the group she brought the brought them to a small wooden building, no windows and a hole in the wall were the door would usually be.

"He's been here. I can feel it." Chris said quietly.

"Then that's more of a reason to get down there as fast as we can." Terashi said.

"Is this the mine?" Chaos suddenly asked.

"Yes, yes it is. Well, the entrance at least." Taria replied.

"This little shack?"

"Yes. A lot of bandits used to raid the mine, so we disguised the entrance as a little abandoned shack. Follow me boys." She stepped through the door hole and walked to the corner and kneeled down, trying to something.

"Ah, here it is." She pulled a dusty rug from the corner of the room, revealing a trap door.

"The entrance?" Chris asked.

"Yeah." She opened the trap door, and proceeded to climb down a set of ladders.

"Come on guys." Chris said as he followed Taria down the ladders. After a minute or two the group reached solid ground. Rooting wooden supports struggled to keep the cavern from caving in. Torches illuminated the cave to cavern to some extent, but it was still dark.

"Ok, they're most likely heading to the end of the cave. Follow me." Taria said.

"Lead the way miss." Terashi said politely. They started walking in silence. Taria navigated through the cavern and its many smaller caves. She started to backtrack toward another cave. Must've been years since she's been here, hopefully her memory was good enough to remember were to go.

"We've been looking for like twenty something minutes. This damn mine can't be that big can it?" Chaos said.

"It's is pretty big." Chris started is he swatted a bat from his face.

"But we're near to the end… I think." Taria said.

"You think!?" Chaos yelled.

"Shut up Chaos." Chris said angrily.

"Well, why don't you make me?" He replied with a face splitting grin.

"Well both of you quit your bickering already?! LOOK!" She yelled. She saw Chandler, maybe one-hundred feet ahead. And they saw her and the others.

"Shit, you two kill them!" Chandler ordered as he ran away. The soldiers equipped their bows and shoot at Chris and company. They dodged the arrows and hid behind a large boulder.

"Ok here is the plan. Chris and Chaos will go and attack them head on, meanwhile myself and Taria will give you two cover fire. Got it?" Terashi whispered.

"Yes sir." Everyone replied.

"I GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU BITCHES!" Chaos yelled beside Chris as they ran forward. As it turns out they didn't need any cover fire. Chaos ran up and just sliced through the two soldiers, but they did get a shot off before they were brutally murdered.

"AHH!" Chris yelled as the stray arrow impaled him in the right upper arm.

"Chris!" Taria yelled as she dropped her bow and ran over to him and looked at his arm.

"Are you ok?" She asked with a worried look on her face.

"I'll b-be fine, I'll just rip it out and call it good for now."

"It'll hurt more if you rip it out. Please don't do it. I don't want to see you hurt more." Chaos walked closer to Chris.

"We don't have time for this." He said as he painfully ripped out the arrow from his arm, taking meat and a lot of blood with it.

"AHH! Damn it Chaos will you warn me next time!" Chris yelled. He clamped his arm in the wound to keep excess blood from oozing out.

"Are you going to be ok Chris?" She asked again.

"He'll live. Come on." Chaos yelled as he ran after Chandler. Without saying anything, Chris ran in the direction where Chaos and Chandler will be. Taria stood still watching them leave, thinking. Terashi walked up to her.

"He'll be fine."

"I hope so. I just don't want him to get killed because of me." She replied sadly.

"I'll keep him safe for you. I promise." He said reassuringly

"O-… ok."

"Come on, we have to go."

"Yes. Let's end this." They both started running, going past another corridor, they came on to a bridge, connecting a one side of a ravine to the other. Chaos was hanging off the right side of the bridge, barley holding on for dear life. And Chris was fighting with Chandler, slowly losing. Terashi and Taria aimed their bows, but couldn't get a good shot on Chandler, Chris could get caught in the crossfire.

"Come on Chris, you can do it!" She yelled, to motivate Chris more then he already is. But soon after, the two swords connected, hard. Chris' sword was knocked of his hands, and fell to the ground some some behind him.

_"Oh no…" Taria expression turned grim. _

Chandler swung his sword at Chris, but he dodged. Seconds later Chandlers fist connected with Chris' face, making him stagger back. Blood was seeping out of his mouth, he some blood off of his lip and spoke.

"You're going to pay, for what you have done."

"I'd like to see you try. Come on. Come to your demise, Oh I will have fun dismembering you, and your friends" He replied with a sadistic smile.

"NOT IF I KILL YOU FIRST!" He screamed and ran toward his enemy. He tried to throw a punch, but Chandler sidestepped out of the way. Chandler kicked him in the back and was pushed to the ground.

_"At the rate of this fight Chris is going to… I have to do something!" _ Taria thought, there wasn't many more option to choose. But soon she didn't need one, she saw that Chaos was started to climb back into the bridge, he was still hanging from the bridge, but he could still attack. He currently was behind Chandler, he didn't know that Chaos has a grip on his sword.

"You owe me one later Chris!" He said as he used his sword to slice though Chandlers right Achilles tendon.

"AHHHHH!" He fell to the ground. Chaos climb up so now he was standing above Chandler.

"Last words asshole?" Chaos asked raising his sword.

"Actually I do. Heads up!" Suddenly many explosions erupted from the caverns and ravine. It was like a minor earthquake.

"Shit! He rigged the place with explosives." Terashi said as he struggled to keep his balance.

"We got to get out of here!" Chaos said as he lost balance and fell on his back.

"Not without Chris!" Taria yelled.

Chandler somehow got to his feet, limping. He grabbed his sword and started limping over the Chaos, who still was struggling to get up.

"Time to die." He said quietly. He raised his sword. Chris quickly stood up and slashed across Chandler's back.

"AHH!" Chandler turned with inhuman speed and through a lift hook and punched Chris in the face. With the punch and the explosions, he lost his balance and fell of the side of the bridge, but not before Chris could grab Chandler's arm and pull him down with him.

_"Chris…"_ Taria though for a split second.

"CHRIS!" He screamed. Chris and Chandler fell twenty feet to the ground. Chris landed on his back, and Chandler landed on his side some feet away, probably breaking his arm. Chris felt an unbearable amount of pain in his stomach. He looked at hisself.

He had fallen and landed on a small three foot stalagmite. It was impaled though his stomach. He could move, he coughed up a large amount of blood and his vision started to blur slightly. He saw Taria walk forward to see what happened. She was horrified at what she saw.

"Chris… NO!" Out of fear that the worst, she jumped off the bridge and landed on her side. Her armor made sure she protected from the fall. She slowly stood up, and tried to walk over to Chris. But suddenly Chandler was standing to Chris' left with a sword to his neck. Taria froze for a second, and then pointed her bow at him.

"Drop the sword! NOW!" She commanded, but he didn't listen. Chris tried to say something, but was in too much pain.

"Relinquish the weapon Chandler! I promise you, of you don't back away from Chris, and put the sword down. I will shoot my arrow into your eyeball and through your brain! And I don't miss!" Terashi yelled from above with Chaos at his side. Seeing that he was out of option he spoke.

"IF I'M GOING DOWN, I'M TAKING HIM WITH ME!" he roared as he raised his sword. Taria shot an arrow, it pierced Chandler's neck, destroying his esophagus, and he started gasping for air but didn't receive any. A spilt second later, Terashi released his arrow and landed straight into his right eye at an angle, sped through his brain matter and lodged itself inside his skull. His body twitched a bit, the fell to the ground with a thud.

Taria dropped her bow, and ran over to Chris and kneeled down to his side, trying to hold her tears inside. She looked at his stomach. Blood was pouring out fast, and it couldn't be stopped. She tried pulling him from the stalagmite.

"AHHHHHH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. She released him. Sadly, he was stuck here. She started to cry, she took Chris' hand into hers.

_"W-what should I do?"_ She thought, she couldn't just let the love of her life just slip away.

"Do-don't cry, p-please. I-I can't s-stand to see you c-cry" Chris struggled to say.

"I can't." She replied. As Chris coughed up blooded

"You… You have to g-get out of this d-death trap." He said clutching her hand.

"I'm not going to leave you here!" She yelled, she could believe what she hearing. Chris asking her to leave him here? Terashi suddenly appeared from behind Taria.

"He is right. The explosives Chandler set off earlier will cause a cave-in soon. The supports are holding as best as they can, but they won't hold for long." He said. The ground was still shaking under their feet.

"I'M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT HIM!"

"Are you crazy!? If we don't get out of this hole we'll all be dead!" Chaos said, who was still on the bridge above.

"I CAN'T LEAVE HIM, I LOVE HIM!" She screamed as she clung to Chris.

"T-Taria, you ha… have to g-go." Chris said weakly as he caressed the side of her face with his hand.

"I don't know if I c-could go on without you."

"I d-… don't know… how long I can… last."

"B-but w-"

"The last couple we… weeks, that I spent, with y-you. Was the best time o-of my life, I… I wish I could spend more time with you, all of it even. B-but you and I both kn-know that I'm n-not going h-home."

"NO! Don't say that! I can't lose you. Everyone else in my life that was near and dear to my heart, h-has been taken from me. I… I-I... You are all I have left. I don't… I can't lose you. I don't know if I could take it, I can't see a life without you in it." She said in between sobs.

"Please. Leave m-me beh-behind. Find another man, t-that could treat you b-better than I ever could."

"B-but you're the only man in the world right for me. Please, don't l-leave me alone, I love you."

"I-I love you too…" Chris sighed painfully "Terashi?"

"Yes?" He replied.

"Could you t-take care of Taria, when I'm g-gone."

"..."

"P-Promise me, you'll take care of her. Please?"

"Of course, I promise, and I don't break my promises." Terashi said.

"Yes you do." Taria whispered.

"What did you say?" Terashi asked with anger in his voice. Taria stood up to face him.

"You promised. You promised me that you would keep my Chris safe, incase anything happened. And look where he is now, implied on stalagmite, asking us to leave him for dead. You promised me!"

"…I-I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? Being sorry isn't going to get Chris out of h-."

"Will you two just shut the fuck up?! Chris is going to die down here, there is no changing that. But if we don't get out of here soon we'll all dead with him." After Chaos' outburst, the group suddenly here a blood-curdling roar from farther inside the ravine.

"What the hell was that?" Chaos nervously asked.

"I don't know. But we shouldn't stick around to find out." Terashi stated.

"B-But Chris…"

"Please T-Taria. Please go with t-them."

"But…" She was crying a river at this point.

"Please…"

"O-ok. If that's what you want." Anyone could tell that her heart broke right at that moment. Chris didn't like to see her like that, but at this rate, he may never see her again. She kneeled down back to Chris again, and locker her lips with his own, he slowly put his arms around her, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. Chris tasted a mixture of blood and saliva, for a moment, he forgot that he was dying. For a moment, he imaged that he and Taria were sitting next to an old oak tree. He had an arm around her, keeper close to him. He had wished that it could be like that, but this is reality. And reality can crush you if you're not careful. That is how Chris saw it.

Taria broke the passionate kiss and spoke.

"I love you, I will never forget you Chris." She was still crying, Chris wiped away some of the tears with his thumb.

"I w-won't forget you either. You were the b-best thing to come into my life, and I'm glad I was able to spend some time with you. I-l-love you." He coughed up more blood, vision fading faster. Taria stood up from Chris and backed away. Chris felt colder as Taria's warmth was withdrawn from him.

"G-Good-bye, Chris."

"…Good-bye… Taria." Chaos had already left by the time that Terashi and Taria climbed back up to the bridge. Terashi was already gone, but Taria stood still at the entrance of the bridge, she turned back to look at Chris one last time. A lone tear fell from her right eye, she mouthed some words to him before she left: 'I love you'. Minutes after he was left alone he started thinking.

_"So… this is how it ends for me huh_?"

_"Well, at least Taria is safe. I'll rest easy knowing that." _The weight of his eyelids became too heavy to keep them open, his clothed were saturated with his own blood, and he lost feeling in his extremities.

_"Good-bye Taria… forever." _He thought as his body went limp.

A couple moments later Chris blacked out.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

"RUN, THE CAVE IS FALLING IN BEHIND US!" Chaos yelled as the group ran towards the ladder that goes up the surface.

"GO GO GO!" Chaos yelled letting Terashi and Taria climb the ladder first. Chaos followed after them. With everyone in the surface, they turned back to look. But suddenly the ground started shaking from under them, furiously.

"This place is going to be a sink hole a few seconds. Everyone back up!" Terashi ordered. The three quickly walked forty feet back. Moments later, the wooden structure sunk into the ground, taking most of the land with it. Thankfully the group was far enough away to not get engulfed in the madness. The mini-quake subsided a few moments later.

_"Chris. He's gone…" _Taria thought as she sank to her knees and cried into her hands.

"Come on Terashi, let's go. We got to get this bitch back ho-" Terashi grabbed Chaos by the collar. He wasn't happy.

"Chaos, you shut your damn mouth. Show some damn respect for this woman, she as lost everything that she loved, everything. What would you feel like if you're significant other, and I suddenly disappeared from your life? Never to return."

"I don't need a pep talk from you, I know what it feels like to lose someone." Chaos said as he pulled back from Terashi's grasp.

"Do you?" Terashi questioned.

"I do. In a job like ours, it happens. Chris knew that once he started to protect someone with a target on her back. Any normal man would've probably left her for dead at the first sign of danger, but Chris loved her too much to let anything bad happen to her, even at the cost of his own life. He knew what he was getting into, but he didn't care. All he cared for was her safety. And I know what I'm talking about, I've had my far share of loss in my years."

Terashi cooled down and sighed.

"Go back to Trenton and wait for further orders, if the battle there hasn't been finished, fight." Terashi commanded.

"Can do." Chaos turned and left, as ordered. Terashi turned around and walked over to Taria.

"Come on, we have to go." He said. No reply.

"I'm sorry that it had to be this way."

"Don't patronize me Terashi. Just like Chaos said, Chris knew what he was getting into." She stood up and wiped the tears from her face.

"Are you uh… ok?" He asked.

"I'm fine." He stated without her usual happy go lucky attitude.

"Are you ready to go back home?"

"Yeah." She replied. She started walking back toward the forest. But Terashi stayed.

_"Rest in peace, Chris."_ Terashi thought before he turned to leave.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Taria and Terashi stood one-hundred meters outside the gates of Trention, the two heard cheer coming from the town. Moving closer to get a better look, Terashi saw that the Infernia soldiers crowding around the center of town, dismantling the guillotine. Piece by bloody piece.

_"So, Infernia won. Looks like I owe James five gold." _Terashi thought with a small chuckle. He ran forward and opened the gates. And left them open for Taria to slowly walk through. The two walked over to the crowd as they finally dismantled the killing machine.

"YEAH!" Most of the soldiers cheered. Taria walked over to her house, and sat on the bench next to the structure, staring at the ground, eyes blurry from tears. Keiko rushed over to Terashi and planted a kiss on his cheek. He hugged her out of the blue. He doesn't usually do that, we would usually just kiss her back but, this is different.

"Something wrong?"

"No it's just… I'm glad you're ok." He said as he hugged her tighter.

"Can't… breathe." He let her go.

"So… nothing wrong?"

"No, at least nothing wrong with me." He stated.

"What do you mean?" She said with a raised eyebrow. He cocked his head in the direction of Taria. Nobody could see her face, but everyone could tell she was grieving.

"I don't understa-" She stopped herself realized Chris was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Chris? Did he…?" She questioned, worried.

"…Unfortunately, yes" He said after a few seconds. Her eyes went wide.

"…Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She was silent for a few moments after he said that.

"Is Chandler dead also?"

"Yes." He confirmed. Keiko gave Taria a sympathetic look.

"Is that why you hugged me so furiously earlier? You don't want to lose me like Taria lost Chris?"

"Of course."

"Such a sweetie you are." Terashi smiled at that.

"Is uh… she going to be ok?" Keiko asked.

"Only time will tell Keiko." He replied. Soon the rest of the Ultima Guard moved out of the crowd and toward their leader.

"So… mission complete I presume?" Aden said

"Yes." Terashi said.

"Why do you guys look so down? The mission is complete. We're all fine, we're all still here."

"Not everyone." Chaos said.

"What are you talking abou-" Alexia stopped herself when she got a glance at Taria.

"_Why does see look so… sad?"_ She thought. _"Wait a second…Chris is always with her…"_

"Where's Chris?" She asked.

"He… He didn't make it." Chaos replied. This took the others by surprise.

"Really!?" Nol interjected.

"It is true, sadly." Keiko said.

"I bet I could cheer the girl up." Nol said with his usual cocky smile.

"No. Not from something like this. Just leave her alone for now, give her time to think." Terashi said. "But that is beside the point. We're going home."

"Finally, my feet are killing me." Mike said.

"…Anyway, we're heading out." Terashi said as he turned and started walking away, his comrades followed. But suddenly a voice called out to them.

"Hey! Wait!" A woman called out. It was Isabella.

"What do you want, woman." Chaos asked with crossed arms.

"I've been trying to find Chris, but he's nowhere to be found. He was with you guys last time I saw him, would you people happen to know where he is? I have a battle to report." She said in between pants.

"Well I'm sorry to drop the bomb on you but-" Chaos tried to say but was interrupted.

"We don't have time to discuss this. Just talk to her, Isabella." Terashi said as he pointed in Taria's direction. After that the group started walking away again.

"Oh… ok." She walked back toward town. But ran into some of Chris' friends. Deric, a now awake Claire, Eve, Achilles, etc.

"Did they tell you?" Achilles said.

"They told me to talk to Taria." Everyone turned their heads to look at her.

"W-why does see look so… broken?" Eve asked.

"Don't know, there is probably an explanation for that." She said as she turned and walked over to the bench Taria was sitting on.

"Are uh… you ok?" She asked. Taria looked up at the other woman with tears still falling from her face.

"I-I'm fine."

"Would you happen to know where Chris could be? I have some things I need to report."

"…Dead…" She whispered.

"Could you that again, I didn't hear you."

"Chris is dead." She said again. Isabella was in shock.

"Wha-What happened?!"

"Impaled by a stalagmite, and then crushed to death with the rest of the old abandoned mine when we chased after Chandler." She said while sobbing to her heart's content. Isabella was wide-eyed through the whole sentence. She stood up and walked away awkwardly.

"Hey, Isabella, did she tell you where he is... And what's with the look on your face, looks like you saw a ghast." Achilles stated. **(See what I did there? :D)**

"Chris is… D-Dead." She stuttered out

"What?! How'd he die?" Deric asked.

"From what Taria told me, he was implied on a stalagmite, and then crushed to death." That made most of the crowd wince.

"Is s-she going to be ok?" Eve asked.

"I hope so." Isabella replied.

"Poor little thing, losing someone like that." Claire said.

"What should do about it?" Logan said.

"I think we should leave her alone, time to think maybe?" Claire suggested.

"Don't know." Deric said.

"Well we won the battle, that's the important part."

"I'm going over there to talk to her." Claire said, walking to the depressed green woman. She sat down on the bench beside Taria.

"You ok?" Claire asked.

"…I'm fine." She said with a sniff, the usual bright color in her eyes was missing.

"I'm so sorry this had to happen, I know that you loved Chris very much."

"…"

"At least he went out protecting you."

"…"

"He was a good m-"

"Where's Sarah? She is usually with you." Taria asked suddenly.

"…I-uhh. She… died. During the invasion. She sacrificed herself to give the rest of us enough time to escape."

_"Everyone one keeps dying around me. Is this a curse I have to endure?"_

(/\/\/\/\/\)

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST?!" An infuriated Herobrine yelled at a soldier that ran away from his previous battle.

"I-I'm sorry, my Lord. But it's true. But there is one good thing out of this."

"And what would that be?"

"The Key has been slain."

"Are you sure?"

"Y-Yeah, I've been told from our recognizance soldiers that he was crushed to oblivion.

"ARE YOU SURE!?"

"I'm sure! No man could survive that."

"Chris is no mere man." Herobrine stated.

"What?" The soldier asked.

"Nevermind."

"So… am I dismissed?" The soldier asked.

"Yes you are… forever." He said as he stabbed his hand through the man's chest, he even penetrated his iron armor. The soldier coughed up blood as Herobrine removed his hand from his abdomen.

"…W-why?" He struggled to say.

"You humans, have lost your usefulness." He said with a smirk as the man fell the ground, dead.

"Well, I guess it is time." He walked past the body and to a small dark room, containing a nether portal. He stepped closer.

"The entire universe will grovel under my feet and beg for death when I'm done." He said as he stepped through the portal.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

**Well what do you guys think? Let me know. ****REVIEW FOR INTERNET COOKIES PWEASE! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: A Faithful Return**

**Well here's Number 10. Sorry this took so long, just had to sort things out with this chapter, had to rewrite somethings. Hope you guys and gals like it. Oh, and this chapter has a lemon, so yeah… Be prepared for that one. ;3**

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Black… it was the only thing Chris could see…

Chris was floating in pitch black darkness. One, where no-one can escape from. He slowly opened his eyes, and was met with disorientation, plus, he also couldn't see very far, as he was surrounded by a think black fog. He suddenly fell on some sort of invisible floor, he groaned and struggled to even move. Where was he? He started thinking to himself, knowing that it was the only thing he could do now.

_"Where I'm I?"_

_"Am I dead? And if so, what is this place…?"_

These questions and more swirled around Chris' head for god knows how long. But, suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a loud, echoing voice.

"Why is your mind so clouded with questions, little one?" The voice asked. Chris froze, he tried to move, but an unknown force kept him on the ground. Trapped, for the moment.

"Who… Who are you?" Chris asked.

"Still asking questions, I see." It replied, and continued. "Well, if this bothers you so much. I will meet your questions, with… suitable answers."

"Where a-am I? Purgatory? Limbo? The land of the Damned?" The voice chuckled.

"Of course not Chris. We are in your sub-conscious." It answered. Chris' eyes went wide. If Chris and that echoing voice were in his sub-conscious… Chris would have to be alive for that to be true.

"So… I'm not dead. HOW?!" He said.

"Everything with be explained when you wake up. Your destiny draws near, little one." Chris was finally able to sit up, and look around, but still failed to see who or whatever was talking to him.

"I don't want this destiny!" He suddenly shouted, taking the voice of guard.

"…What do you mean, Chris?" It asked.

"All I want is to live a normal damn life, with Taria, she is the light of my life, my own personal diamond… is that too much to ask for?!" Chris retorted angrily.

"…I'm sorry Chris, but it is your obligation, you do not have a choice in to the matter."

"I just want to go back to Taria... And forget this all happened..."

"…But without your help, the universe will cease to exist. There will be no more life, and your precious Taria, along with everyone and everything will perish and wither away." The voice stated.

"Wha- What do you mean?"

"Your mind is still clouded young one… Everything will be explained in time. You just have to wake up."

"Wait! I have another question." Chris said as he stood to his feet.

"…What is it, little one?" It asked.

"Who or… what are you?"

"…All be explained to you, in due time. Now, it is time for you to rise and face your destiny, Key." Suddenly, Chris collapsed.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Chris gasped for air as he awakened from his dream-like state. He coughed repeatedly and took a shallow breath in. He took a moment to take in his surroundings. He seemed to be sleeping on a bed, with the impression of his body still etched in it. How long has he been sleeping in this bed? Chris looked around the room he was located in. It seemed to be a small bedroom, a painting of a mountain landscape on the wall, and a closed door some feet ahead. He sat up, and was accompanied with a slight pain in his gut.

_"What happened to me when I blacked out?" _Chris thought as he lifted up his black shirt to look at his stomach. It was covered in bandages, with small stains of blood here and there. And it seems that it has been changed recently. He motioned his right hand to where the stalagmite had pierced him, and touched the area. It was solid, no hole. It was still uncomfortable to move around, but solid. He started moving his legs toward the right of the bed, moments later he stood on his feet, wobbled a bit, but he balanced himself again.

_"Who brought me here?"_ Chris thought while slowly walking to the wooden door. He grabbed the door knob and twisted it, slowly opening it with audible cricks. He stepped out of the bedroom, and entered what looked to be the main area of the house. Chairs placed around a table, and a couple torches placed around the room, illuminating it.

"Hey! Anyone home!" He yelled, not knowing if who or whatever brought him here would be hostile, but he wouldn't know until he found out.

"Oh! You're awake?! Come here!" A surprised feminine voice called from another room.

_"So far so good."_ Chris thought and walked to a white tiled room a couple feet away, which seemed to be the kitchen. He walked into the room and spotted a person on a cloak sitting in a chair, drinking tea.

"I thought you would never wake up. For once, I'm glad to see I was wrong." She turned around showed her face. The woman looked to older then 29, her eyes were as green as Taria's skin. And also brunette hair, and stood at 5'5.

"Where am I, miss…?"

"It's Jade. And you're in my… humble abode." She said and walked towards Chris and lifted his shirt to examine the area.

"Well it seems that you're injury has healed up pretty good. Without you're healing abilities it would've taken a lot longer, or you would've died." She put his shirt back down and walked back over to her chair and sat down.

"What happened to me?" Chris asked.

"What do you mean Chris?"

"I should be dead right now… Never to be seen again. What happened?" He asked again.

"I saved you after you were left for dead in the mine. I'm pretty sure you know about the lake that is connected to the mine that almost crushed you to death right?"

"Yeah…" Chris replied softly.

"I got into the cave though the river entrance. I didn't arrive until after your friends left you down there. It took some time, but I ripped you off the stalagmite and got us both out of there before the entire mine collapsed. I patched you up and stopped the extremely profuse bleeding. After that I brought you here to heal." Chris took his time to let the information sink in.

"…Where is here exactly?" Chris asked.

"Well you're in my hut in the swamp not too far from Trenton, maybe a couple of miles away."

_"Hut…? Swamp…?" _

"You're a witch?" Chris asked.

"Yeah." The green-eyed woman replied.

"Where is your… uh-"

"The mole on my nose? That is just a stupid stereotype Chris. I may be a witch but I am as beautiful as the shining sun." Jade declared like she was repeating words off of a book.

"Anyway… Why did you save me in the first place?" She stayed silent for a moment.

"…A friend asked me to." She replied, Chris' left eye brow rose.

"Who?" She began tapping her fingers in the wood table in front of her.

"Terashi." She stated.

"You know him?"

"Yeah, he's an old friend." She said with a small smile.

"But why save me?"

"It wasn't just for you. Just in case any of the Ultima Guard personnel goes down like you did, I step in and do what needs to be done. If they're too far gone, I 'relive' them from duty. But if they can be saved, I save them. We just didn't expect you to be the one."

"But I'm just a man, a normal man. I ask again, why me?" He asked.

"We just can't let you die Chris. You're the Key."

"…Oh no... More of this 'the key' bullshit. What does it even mean? And why do some people keep calling me that?"

"You're special Chris. I may be a witch, and know a lot about prophecies. But this one in particular is… illusive and intriguing to me, only a few select people in the world know about this, I'm one of them and even I don't really know all the details. But what I do know is that I have to give you this." She walked up to Chris and gave him a small piece of paper, it look old, ancient in fact. He tried to read the small note without accidently ripping it. There were coordinates inscribed in it. Seemed to be written in red markings, probably blood.

X: 375.8346

Z: 32.5298

_"That's pretty far away…" _Chris thought as he skimmed down the paper to see more text.

_Please, deliver this to the key, or all is lost… Date: June 3rd 2556…_

_"Hmm, why would this witch need to give me a five-hundred year old piece of paper?" _He pondered.

"These coordinates go as far into the vast desert, no-one goes there, not even a small settlement resides there. Why did you give me this?" He asked, skeptical of her motives.

"This little place of paper was passed down from generation to generation in my family. Waiting for the right moment. I don't know why I have to give this to you, but I was told to, when I found someone like you."

"What are at these coordinates?"

"I'm not sure, but only the Key would know."

"I _don't _know, that's the problem." Jade smirked at him.

"Well then, you'll just have to go there and find out won't you?" Chris sighed. He started walking away toward the door.

"I wouldn't go out there if I were you." She said. Chris paused for a second, but continued walking.

"What's wrong with going back to Tre-" He tried to say as he opened the door. The landscape didn't look like it should. The trees in the distance were withered and rotten. Fire was everywhere, still spreading and consuming the land. The worse part of it is that the nether monsters were rooming free, somehow. The zombie pigmen were slowly walking around the area. And the ghasts, monsters of legend, flying through the skies, trying to find more lives to destroy. The moon in the sky was blood red.

_"What the hell happened here?" _ He thought in fear as he quickly shut the door and turned to Jade.

"What… is going on? What the fuck is happening out there?!" He asked.

"Well, Herobrine found out that you supposedly 'died'. He released most of the monsters that were trapped in the nether, and invaded our world. He is trying to enslave the human race, and as angering as it sounds, he is unstoppable. And he won't even stop at Earth, he is going to travel to other worlds Chris. I'm not completely sure what his final action will be, but it won't be good, no good for anyone or anything." Chris was shocked to say the least. Herobrine is really going on with his plans? He has to stop that mad man. But suddenly, an image of someone special was carved into his mind, breaking his train of thought… Taria. Chris felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in his heart at the thought of her. But then he suddenly felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. If Herobrine has started his invasion... Is she safe, is she alive… or is she dead. He shuttered at the thought of her mangled corpse.

_"I have to find her!" _He thought as he reopened the door going to the outside world.

"I wouldn't bother going back to Trenton if that is where you're going." She said, making Chris freeze in his tracks.

"Wha-What do you mean?"

"Herobrine conquered Trenton about two months ago." She said nonchalantly.

"...Oh no. Shit!" He yelled angrily as he punched the wall next to the door he was standing in front of.

"Whoa Whoa man. Don't get your panties in a knot." She said as Chris fell to his knees, and start sobbing into his hands.

"…Don't cry, I don't like it when people cry." Chris remembered that he would usually say that to Taria when she felt sad.

"If it'll make you feel any better, I know where your 'creeper' woman is." She said as she walked over to the no longer weeping man.

"You…you do?"

"I know many things." She said, and then moved over to a trap door to their right. "Follow me." Chris stood to his feet, and followed the witch over to the trap door, and down a ladder. After going down fifty feet, the duo reached a cylinder shaped cavern. It didn't look natural, this cave was man-made. Where was she taking him?

"What are we doing down here anyway?" Chris asked skeptically as he wiped excess tears from his face.

"Just in case something like this happened, Trenton and many other cities and their miners built an underground… 'Safe haven' If you will. They've built tunnels that lead from that 'Safe haven' to all the cities in a two-hundred square mile radius. If your woman is still alive, she is there.

"I hope so." Chris replied.

"Anyway, follow me. We have a lot of ground to cover." She said and started walking. Chris followed.

"There is something I want to ask you." Chris stated.

"Ask away." The witch replied.

"Who long have I been-"

"Down and out? Um… about two and a half… No, three months." Jade confirmed. Chris was shocked.

"…Damn it. I've really been gone that long?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I tried all I could, but you fell into a coma. I was pretty surprised that you woke up at all."

"…I hope Taria is ok."

"You care about her a lot don't you?"

"Of course I do. I love her."

"I've noticed that. Keep a hold onto that, love as strong as yours and that woman doesn't come around often. Once in a life time perhaps."

"Yeah. I will."

(/\/\/\/\/\)

The two followed a trail of torches to a large iron door. Jade walked up and knocked on it. And a person behind it opened it for them.

"Thank you." The witch stated as she walked in, with Chris following. They walked into what seemed to be a large meeting area for the civilians. Chris could hear the moans and groans of the injured civilians. How hard was it to actually get out of the towns alive? He started to look around to try to find Taria, but the crowd was too thick.

_"I'm never going to find her like this."_ Chris thought pushing past more people. He turned to where he saw Jade last so he could talk to her, but, she just disappeared.

_"Where the hell did she go?" _Chris thought.

"Hey!" Someone called out. Chris didn't pay attention to the call, thinking it was for someone else.

"Chris! Hey!" The same voice called out. Chris turned his head to see that it was Ale calling him.

"Ale?" The man tried running up to Chris, pushing past other people if he needed to.

"Dude, where have you been? It's been like… three months. I was told you kicked the bucket!"

"I-I'm sorry." He apologized.

"It's ok, I'm just glad you're not dead." He stated happily, patting Chris' shoulder.

"Uhhh…" No words were exchanged between the two for a few seconds.

"Anyway… Follow me, we got people to see." He said

"Uhh… Ok." Chris replied and followed Ale through the crowd. Soon, Ale led Chris to the Ultima Guard, who were all sitting in their chairs around a table.

"Hey! Look who I found!" Ale said. The group gasped. Chris' eyes observed the Ultima Guard, they didn't look to good. Chaos had a bloody eye patch covering where is right eye would be. Keiko was covered in bandages, head to toe. Terashi was sitting next to her with an arm around her, Terashi himself seemed to be relatively unscathed, cuts and bruises was all he sustained. Nol, looked very pale. His left forearm was missing, the rest of his arm was covered in bandages. Nol was clutching his stub of an arm in pain, must've been recently removed. Chris turned his head to see Mike, he looked fine. No scratches or bruises. But Alexia, James and Aden were missing.

"You're alive. You're fucking alive!?" Chaos started. "Where have you been huh!? We could've used your help! It's a total fucking shitstorm out there! We lo-"

"Chaos." Terashi interrupted. "Shut up. His help probably wouldn't have changed their fates."

"Who's fates?" Chris asked.

"A-as you can see, some of us are missing." Keiko stated weakly.

"What happened?"

"Sadly, Alexia has fallen into a coma, she is in the infirmary right now. James is with Alexia, sitting next to her bed, hoping that his wife will wake up soon."

"And Aden?"

"Dead." Nol muttered, soon after he said that he started deeply crying, for his dead friend. Chris sighed in pity for the boy. A sudden awkward silence has overtaken the group.

"I'm sorry… for the loss of your teammates." Chris said.

"Don't be. They fought with bravery, even to their last minutes." Terashi said, dipping head his down.

"…Is Taria safe?" Chris asked, hoping that she is.

"Of course. I've kept my promise." Terashi replied. Chris sighed in relief.

"…Where is she? I want to see her." Ale pointed his finger in the direction of a door not too far away. There was a sign on the door it read: Sleep Block C.

"Ever since you 'died', she hasn't been her usual self, she hasn't gone out of her room much, she's only left to eat and stuff like that. She is _really _depressed, and hopefully her seeing you will make her cheerful again." Ale said. Chris felt horrible, all he wanted for Taria was for her to be alive… and happy. But she wasn't, maybe telling her to leave wasn't the best thing to do. But if they stayed, they wouldn't be here.

_"So… I guess it all worked out in the end." _Chris thought. Suddenly the Sleep Block C door opened. Chris, along with the others turned their heads toward to opening door. A few other people stepped out of the door, and entered the room. A couple seconds later, Taria entered the room.

_"Great timing."_ Chris thought happily.

She turned right and started walking away, not noticing Chris.

"Hey, Taria!" Chris yelled running over to her. She didn't respond, she just kept walking.

"…Taria..." He said softly as he put a hand on her shoulder. She stopped, and started talking… to herself.

"Get a hold of yourself Taria, he's just your imagination. Chris is dead… He's never coming back." She said quietly as tears were falling from her face. Chris turned her body around, making her face him.

"It's me Taria, I-I'm not dead. I never was." Taria looked up at Chris, with a morbid expression. He suddenly pulled her into a hug.

"I thought I would never get to see you again." Chris said as he tightened his hold around her.

"You-You're alive? H-How?" She stuttered.

"One of Terashi's friends came and rescued me after you guys left. I wish I could've been there for you sooner." Taria turned her head to look at Terashi.

"Just like I said Taria, I don't break my promises." Terashi stated. Taria was speechless, and on the verge of crying. Chris released her from his hug.

"Again, I'm sor-"

_SMACK!_

Taria slapped Chris. He started rubbing the red hand imprint on the side of his face. "That's for making us leave you to die down in that mine!"

She looked furious, but her expression suddenly softened. Her cheeks turned a darker color as she threw her arms around Chris' neck and locked her lips with his. Chris' eyes widened at the sudden act of affection. But, he was too influenced by the sensations to object, not like he wanted to anyway. Chris rested his hands on Taria's hips and deepened the kiss. But, just as the passionate kissing started, it ended abruptly as Taria pulled her head away from Chris', a trail of saliva still connecting the two mouths. She whipped off the excess saliva with her sleeve and spoke.

"That… was for coming back to me. I had lost all hope that you would return to me. It was very… lonely down here, without you being by my side. I felt so cold without you, the warmth that I felt when you were near, was taken away from me..." She started crying in-between sentences. "I-I… I-" She was trying to form words, but she was silenced as Chris pulled her close and started to kiss her again.

"Aww... That's sweet." Keiko said weakly. Suddenly the group heard a faint voice.

"C-Chris." A masculine voice called out. Chris released his lips from Taria's and looked forward. Deric and Eve were walking closer.

"You're alive?" Deric said, astonished.

"Yeah." Chris replied casually.

"H-How?" Eve asked. Terashi stood up from his sitting position started walking closer.

"We don't have time, the point is that he is alive." He moved closer to Chris. "We have work to do." He said quietly enough for the rest of the crowd to not to hear.

"What do you mean?" Chris asked.

"Didn't Jade give you a note?"

"…Oh, I completely forgot about that, yeah she did." Chris took the note out of his pocket and gave it to Terashi.

"Hmm." Terashi started examining the note, and the writings on it.

"Wait a second, what do you mean 'We'."

"We're not letting you go by yourself, there is too much at stake here." Terashi said giving the note back to Chris.

"This is my fight, I don't know what being 'the key' is all about, but I'm not letting anyone else get hurt or die because of it. Too many people have already gotten hurt because of me."

"…Chris, I know what you're trying to do. But taking this whole responsibility just on your own is not a good idea. At this time, going out there alone, the chance of death is extremely high. You don't want to make Taria see you die a second time, do you?"

"O-of course, not. She looked so broken, I couldn't do that to her again."

"Good, myself and Chaos will be accompanying you on your journey." Terashi stated.

"I'm coming to." Deric suddenly blurted. Chaos sighed.

"Great. Do we have anymore fucking volunteers?!" Chaos yelled with frustration apparent in his voice. Hands started rising. First was Ale, then Eve, and lastly Taria.

"What? You want to come with me? You can't go wi-"

"I'm not going to lose you again! Not if I have anything to say about it! I'm not going to let you just… slip through my fingers again, I couldn't take it..." She started tearing up again. Chris sighed and pulled her back into another hug to give her some comfort.

"Fine, if you feel so strongly about this, you can come."

"Thank you." She replied.

_"I know that she wants , she wants to keep me safe, or at least try to. I just don't want her to get hurt. She is so willing to risk everything to stay by my side. To protect me. I left her once, I won't do it again, and I won't be the catalyst of her sadness, not again…" _Chris thought and sighed and hugged her tighter, she blushed heavily in response to the contact. Terashi tapped Chris' shoulder after a few seconds. Chris turned his attention to the blond man.

"We have things to talk about…" Terashi said. Chris reluctantly let go of Taria, and turned to him.

"What is it, Terashi?"

"We don't have much time, we need to leave. Pronto."

"We really need to leave now?" Chris asked.

"Yes." Terashi replied

"C-Can I at least spend the night with Taria? I-I…" He was interrupted by Terashi putting a hand on Chris' shoulder.

"I understand Chris." He said as he put his hand back down at his side.

"You do?"

"Of course I do Chris. I have a wife of my own you know. If you want to spend time with Taria, be my guest. I'll wake you up when the time comes. Cherish every moment you have with her… It might not last long."

"I-I do. I always do."

"Good." He started walking away back toward his wife. Chris turned back toward Taria and the others.

"So, we good?" Ale asked.

"Yeah we're fine. For now, we're going to have to leave this place tomorrow morning, really early. Anyone who is coming will have to be ready for anything."

"Yes, we will." Deric said. "Well since it going to be early, Eve and I are going to bed. See you guys later." Deric said as he and Eve turned and left though a door labeled: Sleep Block F. The others started to depart as well, until it was just Taria and Chris.

"C-Chris?" Taria asked from his side.

"Yes?" He replied.

"Will you uh… follow me?"

"…Sure." She grabs his hand and pulled him to the door were she had came out of earlier. She opens the door, and lets herself and Chris inside. Inside, there was a corridor with rose of doors, each of them having a corresponding letter and number. From C1 to C20. Taria lead Chris to her room, C7. She took a sliver key from her pants pocket, and unlocked the door, letting the two inside. As Chris entered, he took a look at the room he was in. It looked to be a living room. Paintings on some of the walls, a couple chairs placed around a small table in the center of the room. And bookshelves placed in to corners of the room.

"Nice place." Chris stated.

"Thanks, but, every single room in any sleep block looks the same." The green woman replied. "Follow me."

"Ok." He stated, following her again to a door that was to the left of them. It was the bedroom. Four beds sat in the room. Five feet apart from each other.

"Hmm. There's four beds here. But, why are you the only one here?" Chris asked, something in the back of his mind told him that he already know the answer to question he just asked.

"No-one wanted to be in the same room with me, much less live with me. So the other people live in the other rooms and… I've had this one all to myself."

_"Must've been pretty lonely here for her." _Chris thought, he still felt horrible not being able to be there for her in her time of need.

"I usually sleep here." She said as she pointed a finger at the bed to the left, closest to the wall.

"Well, we better get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow." He said while climbing into the bed next to Taria's and just started to lie there, not covering up, looking at the ceiling as if he was starring into the night sky. She then sat on her bed, but she didn't lie down to sleep. She just sat there for a few minutes, twiddling her thumbs, cheeks dark green, looking as if she was trying to gather courage to say or do something. Chris noticed this and turned to her.

"Is something wrong, Taria?"

"N-no no. Nothing's wrong. It's just…" She trailed off, sighing.

_"What is she thinking about?" _Chris pondered, looking back up at the ceiling. Suddenly, Taria stood up. She started slowly walking toward Chris, with her arms behind her back.

_"W-what is she doing?"_ Chris thought.

**(50 KILL STREAK! - - - FRIENDLY LEMON INBOUND XD!)**

Suddenly, Taria began to do something that Chris would never think that she would do… She moved closer to him, and bent down. Seconds later they were face to face, she was on top of him, straddling him. Taria was staring into Chris' eyes, and vice versa.

"W-what a-are you d-doing." Chris asked nervously. The color of her cheeks became darker.

"I… I-I… You've been g-gone for so long… I-I…" She sighed. "I love you, you know that r-right?"

"…Of course I know that, you shouldn't need to ask. I love you too, with all of my heart. I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world. I-" He was interrupted by Taria pressing her body against his own and started kissing him, passionately. Chris' heart rate increased, it felt like it could beat out of his chest. But, suddenly Taria lips were separated from Chris'. Both gasping for oxygen.

"That's all I needed to hear..." Taria said, and continued. "There is uh… something I've been m-meaning to ask you." Suddenly she began to gyrate her hips, grinding on Chris' hips. This surprised Chris even more. He moaned, having a tightening feeling in his groin area. Chris never knew that Taria could be so… so… adventurous...

"W-what did you what t-to ask me?" He asked, and moaned again.

"I-I… C-... I love you so m-much I…" Taria sighed again. "…C-can we… I-I want you... C-could... Could you m-make l-love with me?" She said nervously as she continued to shake her hips on his.

Chris' mind went blank at that moment. His eyes widened and his face became red.

_"S-she… She r-really wants t-to do this? I-I don't know what to do... I d-don't know if this is the right time, especially with us leaving tomorrow morning. B-but I can't just say no… to this… do I?"_ Chris began thinking deeply, almost for fifteen seconds. Suddenly the gyrating of Taria's hips had ceased, and her expression turned from one of embarrassment, to a crestfallen one.

"I-I'm s-sorry. I shouldn't have asked s-something like t-that." She looked sad, like she had been rejected. Chris could never reject her. He didn't want her to think that, never. She was about to lift herself off of Chris, but he wrapped his arms around her, keeping her pinned to his body.

"Wha-" She began, trying to say something, but was interrupted.

"I didn't say I didn't want to do anything with you, I'd gladly do… those things with you." Chris said, caressing her cheek with his hand, Taria blushed furiously in response. "It's just that with everything that's happening, plus the fact that you just asked me to… make love with you, it all kind of overwhelmed me a bit. I-I'm sorry, I didn't reject you, I never would. I was just trying to think about this. But with you on top of me like this, it's really hard to think clearly." He finished, rubbing the back of his head nervously. She seemed to be happy and excited again after he said that, and smiled. She moved her head closer to Chris'. Their faces just inches away from each other.

"Well then, if it's too difficult for you to think, then don't…" She whispered flirtatiously, continuing to grind herself on him. Chris began to stutter uncontrollably, the tightening in his groin continued to grow every second, slowly becoming harder and harder to ignore. **(No pun intended :D)** She giggled at his nervousness, and quickly pressed her lips against his, trying to insert her wet tongue inside Chris' mouth, with which, he gladly granted access. And the tongue 'war' began, in which Chris was losing, only because he was letting her win. He could become the dominate one at any moment; however, he wanted to let her have her fun. He used his arms and held her closer to his body and deepened the kiss, she moaned in his mouth in response to that action. One of Taria's hands moved up to Chris' head and she started playing with his hair. For a second time, Chris felt like his heart could beat out of his chest. The sensations he felt was like heaven on Earth, and Taria was his fallen angel. The two continued the blissful kissing for many more minutes…

Suddenly, Taria lips were separated from Chris' as she sat up. Her hands went to the bottom of her black shirt, and started to left it up. Chris gulped. Seconds later, she removed the article of clothing, revealing her black bra. She let her shirt fall to the floor beside the bed, then reached behind her back and unhooked the bra, and let it fell, revealing her plump C-cup breasts. Chris felt a lump form in his throat. He was speechless. She blushed and giggled at this as she dropped the bra to the floor, next to her shirt. Chris' weary eyes examined her half naked form. A short silence filled the room.

"D-Do you… what to touch them?" She asked bashfully.

"Uh… I-I…" He was too captivated by her gorgeous figure to speak. She grasped Chris' right hand in hers, and moved his hand up, making him feel her left breast.

"Do you like the way they feel?" Taria asked, while Chris was caressing her breast. Chris didn't reply for a few moments.

"...W-wow...They feel a-amazing, so s-soft." He replied softy. After gaining some courage, Chris slowly lifted is other hand, and used it to feel her other breast. He slowly started rubbing her pink nipples, she moaned loudly and her fingers twitched uncontrollably.

"Ahh… It fe-feels g-good… Ahh." She moaned in pleasure while biting her lip as Chris continued to gently massage her breasts. Never in her life, she would see herself doing something like this, and with someone that actually and truly loves her. Someone that becomes speechless at the sight of her, and not try to run away for dear life. Someone that can see through what see looks like, or what see might be. Someone that completely loves her, for her. Someone that sees her as special, and not just a freak, or a monster. Louis always told her that there was someone special in the world for her, but for much of her young life before she had meet Chris, she believed that no-one would love her like the way she could someone. But, she was wrong, dead wrong. Taria could never let someone like Chris go. And she's thankful that he is alive, and returned to her, so she could do something like this with him. She began to move her hands to Chris' sides, and started to take off his grey T-shirt. Knowing that, Chris removed his hands from her chest and let her remove the shirt from his body, and let it fall to the hard wood floor, revealing his abs, and the bangages covering his gut. She gently put a hand on it.

"D-does it still hurt?" She asked.

"It'll be f-fine, it's just a little uncomfortable." Taria giggled.

_"S-she looks so… b-beautiful I-I…" _Chris tried to think clearly… But it was an impossible effort…

Suddenly, Chris' arms wrapped around her and pulled her down to his level, leaving no space in-between them. He started passionately kissing her as her breasts were pressed up against his chest. Chris shoved his tongue inside Taria's mouth, making her moan, and he started to sick on her lower lip, getting her moan even louder. The two closed their eyes and enjoyed the kissing … until Taria felt something hard, between her legs, pressing up against her…

_"Excited, isn't he?"_ She thought as she realized with the poke was, and blushed madly to the feeling. She pulled her head away from Chris', stopping the kiss. Both breathing heavily.

"Even after three months, you're a good kisser." Taria said happily with a smile.

"…Y-you are too. D-don't give me all the credit." Chris replied as he laid his hands on her hips.

"Do you know what's going to happen now?" She asked while tracing circles on his chest with her finger, then she moved back and got to her knees and sat.

"I don't k-" He was suddenly interrupted by Taria moving her hand downward and grabbing his erect manhood through his pants.

"Ahhh…" He moaned loudly, griping the sheets of the bed, recoiling form the new feeling he just experienced. She giggled at this.

"Feel good, Chris?" Taria asked playfully.

"Ye-Yes." He replied.

"Good." She stated. She used her hands and started to slowly pull Chris' pants down.

"W-What a-are you doing?" He asked. Taria ignored his question and continued. A few seconds later, she pulled Chris' pants off. She gasped at the sight of it, her face getting darker. But now, she couldn't help but stare at his 7-inch manhood, which also possessed an impressive girth.

"Oh my… I-it's… it's so… b-big." Her hand moved forward and gripped the base of Chris' manhood, raising a moan out of him. She giggled again. She gave Chris' member a jerk. His leg twitched and a moan was heard. Now, she started stoking it, her hand going up and down his shaft, picking up a rhythm. Raising more and more moans from Chris.

"T-Taria… Ah…" He moaned out, clutching the bed sheets tighter.

"You like that?" She said seductively, smirking, while stroking his member at a faster pace.

"It's… Ahh, it f-feels amazing." Taria giggled in delight.

Chris, feeling like he died and gone to heaven, continued to enjoy what Taria was doing. A wave of pleasure hitting him at every single stoke of his member. He couldn't even begin to describe the complete bliss that he was feeling. But suddenly, Taria stopped stoking him.

"Wh-Why d-did you s-" Chris didn't finish his sentence, due to the fact that Taria bent down, her lips just inches from his manhood, he could feel her breath on his member.

"…Wha-" He was interrupted again, as she wrapped her wet mouth around the tip of his hardness. Chris' eyed widened as he felt Taria began to make more of his member disappear within her mouth. Chris leaned his head back, letting out a groan of ecstasy. Taria let out a purr of pleasure, purely to get a rise out of Chris.

"W-Where d-did you learn t-to do this?" Chris asked as another wave of pleasure wash over him. She took his member out of her mouth to answer.

"Don't ask questions Chris… Just enjoy…" She said with a seductive smile, and then she began to suck in his manhood again, sending more waves of pleasure throughout his body. Chris fingers twitched as Taria began to bob and her head up and down on his member faster.

"Ahh…" He moaned out in pleasure.

_"I-it feels… s-so damn g-good. T-this woman is going to drive m-me crazy!"_ Chris thought as he moaned in ecstasy. All the feelings he was experiencing was indescribable, now he was certain that Taria was trying to drive him to madness with her mouth. All of a sudden, Taria tried to take in all of Chris' manhood into her hot, wet mouth. She started gagging on it, but continued to take it in farther.

"Ahh…! T-Taria… Ah!" He gasped, moaning loudly. She held his hardness inside her mouth for many more moments, trying to milk Chris' expression for as long as she can, Taria loved how she made Chris feel, how he moaned her name. She moved her head up and released Chris' member form its 'prison'. She gasped for air, breathing heavily. Chris moaned again as his member twitched a few times. She giggled and gripped the base of his hardness, and started to slowly and playfully stoke it, continuing to raise moans and groans of pleasure from Chris.

"Did you like this?" She said with a loving smile, waiting for her lover to respond.

"…Y-You're amazing… It felt s-so good…I loved it…" He moaned out, Taria playfully giggled as she continued to stroke him. She leaned and started to whisper into his ear.

"I'm glad you feel that way… But I'm not finished with you yet…" She said as she stopped stoke his member.

"Huh…?"

She lowered herself again. Chris thought see was going to continue sucking in his manhood, but he was wrong.

"You like my breasts, right?" She asked, cupping them.

"…Yes… T-they're perfect…" She smiled in response to his compliment toward her feminine features.

"Excellent. That's all I needed to hear…" She finished with a giggle. She suddenly incased the tip of his member in-between her supple breasts, making it disappear. Chris moaned loudly to this new sensation, Taria smiled sensually at him. She slowly inserted more of his manhood into her breasts, until the base of his member had disappeared, only the tip of it was still showing.

"Oh my… You're so big, not even my breasts can hold it all." She said with a slight giggle. Chris couldn't help but moan. Instinctively, he started to thrust his hips, having the feeling of pure euphoria, but she stopped him from thrusting by resting her hands on his hips, and spoke

"No no Chris. Just relax, I'll do the work." She said with a small smile.

"B-but… I-" Taria put her index finger on Chris' lips, silencing him.

"Relax… And just… enjoy this. I want to make you feel good, like you've gone to heaven." But want she didn't know, is that he was already there. She started to stoke Chris' member with her breasts, licking the tip whenever she had the chance. Chris, however, couldn't believe the effect she was having on him, he never felt anything so amazing in his entire life! Every time she stoked him, it felt as if his heart exploded, over and over. He couldn't think straight, his mind flooded with pleasure and feeling.

"Ahh!" He moaned as she increased the pace of her strokes.

"Oh m-my God. It f-f-feels so… so… g-good." He whimpered softy. She giggled, and started sucking on the tip of his manhood, while continuing to stroke it with her breasts, the collective feelings that were bombarding Chris' body was unbearable, every stroke she exerted into Chris began to get more and more pleasurable, feeling more amazing every time she licked his member. Taria giggled as she noticed Chris' erratic movements, his bodily twitching, and his loud moans, completely in sync with the strokes she was exerting on his hardness.

_"He's close…"_ She thought and increased the speed of her strokes, squeezing her breasts, putting more pressure on his erect manhood, causing him to moan even more. She smiled seductively as she looked at his pleasure stricken expression, she loved how he looked. She started stroking his member with her voluptuous breasts faster and faster. Chris' hands balled into fists, unable to comprehend all the sensations that he's experiencing.

Chris started to feel pressure building up. Taria, who is continuing to stroke him, kept adding to the pressure accumulating in his groin, his moans continuing to get louder and louder. Taria stopped focusing in the action at hand and look at Chris with her piercing gaze, Chris noticed this and then looked into her eyes. To Chris, she never looked more beautiful than in that moment. She wore a loving smile, warming Chris' rapidly beating heart. Taria vigorously returned her focus downward and continued to stroke him with her breasts, increasing the tempo every second, licking and sucking on the tip whenever she could.

The pressure that ached in his Chris' groin started to become unbearable, every stroke doubled the pleasure. Enjoying what she was doing to him would be an understatement. Chris gripped the sides of the bed, trying to keep himself still, but it didn't help his uncontrollable leg twitching. The ever growing pleasure began to overwhelm his senses. He felt as if he was nearing some breaking point. Taria noticed his bodily movements, indicating that he was very close to his climax. Knowing that, she increased the speed of the strokes and started sucking the upper region of his manhood more vigorously, the actions making both Taria and Chris moan in pleasure.

The pressure in Chris' crotch continued to build for the next few moments… until… The pressure he tried to suppress couldn't be contained any longer…

"AH…-AHH!" He moaned loudly as his seed bursted out of his member. Taria gasped and flinched as his warm and think juices landed on her face and in her mouth, more of it squirted out of his manhood and landed on her chest and breasts. He fell limp on the bed, breathing heavily like he just ran ten miles, non-stop. Taria smiled at Chris as she swallowed the juices that were still in her mouth.

"Tastes… salty." She said as she licked her lips, and then giggled.

"…T-That was… I-I can't even begin to describe it…" He replied sheepishly, he felt like he was on the verge of passing out.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." She said as she tried to clean herself, licking up or whipping off whatever she could from her body. "It's pretty sticky." She said as tried to lick her fingers clean of Chris' seed. Once moderately clean, she leaned forward to kiss Chris, he gladly threw his arms around her and returned the kiss, passionately. The kiss lasted for a whole minute before they stopped for air.

"Ready for round two?" She said a flirtatious smile.

"T-There's a round two?" Chris replied nervously.

"Of course there is, silly." She said and looked back down to his manhood. "You're still hard." She grabbed his member playfully. Raising a moan from Chris.

"I don't know h-how much more I can t-take…" He moaned out. She giggled again. She stopped stroking him, and exited the bed. With another giggle, she moved her hands to the top of her pants and started to pull them down, revealing her wet black panties. After she removed her pants she spoke.

"You want to take it off?" She gestured to her panties, shaking her butt at him. Chris gulped. He didn't know what to say, or even do; He was frozen on the bed.

"Well, if you're too shy, then I'll do it." She said and slipped out of her panties. Chris' manhood twitched at the sight of her naked body. She stepped back to Chris and proceeded to get on top of him again, his member just inches away from Taria's wet warmth. She bent down to kiss Chris, he started to kiss back. Then, she slowly lowered her hips, the tip of his manhood was now touching the ball of nerves between her legs. She moaned in Chris' mouth. But, in that moment, Chris had a change of plans...

He stopped kissing her, and grabbed her sides. She yelped in surprise as Chris rolled her on her back.

"Wha-" Taria tried to say but was stopped by Chris relocking his lips with hers, exploring her sides with his hands. A few moments later, the two stopped kissing.

"Well, that was sudden." She said with a giggle.

"Now it's your turn to just sit back and relax."

"Oh, is it now?" She said with a seductive smirk. He rested his hands on her knees, and spread her legs, surprising her.

"Yes, it is." He said, pressing the tip of his manhood on the slit of her warmth. She gasped and moaned loudly.

"You've been doing all the work. But now…" He leaned in, getting closer to her face. "…it's my turn to pleasure you." Taria's body shuttered at his words. Then he started applying more pressure on her warmth.

"Ahh…" She moaned. "S-stop teasing me C-chris… I-I want y-you, p-please…" She begged, her legs shaking slightly with anticipation.

"Your wish is my command, Taria." He said with a smile, readying himself.

"B-but please, b-be gentle." She said as she closed her eyes.

"Of course I will." He said as he slowly eased his hips forward, feeling his member slowly enter Taria's warmth. She gasped as Chris broke past her barrier, inflicting pain and pleasure on her. Chris continued to slide the rest of his manhood inside her, driving himself at the hilt of Taria's warmth, the inside of her warmth felt so soft, yet… so firm and tight, Chris moaned in pure ecstasy, while Taria winced in pain. Chris saw this and spoke.

"Are you ok, Taria?"

"…I-I'm fine… P-please, k-keep going." She moaned out. As much as Chris wanted to pleasure her, he didn't want to hurt her, he didn't like to see her in pain, especially since he was the cause of it. Chris pulled most of his member out of Taria, and suddenly plunged it back inside her, raising a loud moan out of her. Taria threw her arms around Chris' neck, and wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him to go deeper. With each thrust, the pain that Taria felt was soon replaced with sheer pleasure. Both Taria and Chris moaned out of pleasure as he increased the tempo of his thrusts.

Taria's head dipped back into the pillows, reveling in pleasure. She moaned again, Taria never knew sex could feel this amazing. Every thrust added to the growing pleasure inside her, and Chris.

"Ahh… C-chris, t-this feels s-so good… AHH!" She finished with a loud moan. Chris moaned as he continued to repeatedly thrust inside her, her breasts bouncing back and forth from every thrust. When Taria was pleasuring him earlier, it felt wonderful, but this, this was over the top. The feeling that Chris was experiencing while he was inside her, it was unexplainable, incomprehensible. At that moment, everything else in the world melted away, now it was only Chris and Taria, and the love that was shared between them.

"Ahh! C-chris, go f-faster, p-please." Taria begged. Chris was more than happy to oblige. He quickened the speed of his thrusts, making her moan louder. Chris bent up and gripped her hips for support, as he thrusted into her warmth again. Chris felt as if he was luckiest bastard on Earth, he never thought that he would fall in love, especially with someone as sweet and as beautiful as Taria, even though most people are disgusted with her looks, he thought of Taria as a princess… or a Goddess. Her beauty out matched all, at least in Chris' eyes. If anyone had the gall to call her a freak or a monster, within Chris' earshot… he wouldn't have a problem breaking their noses.

"Ahh…" She moaned again, arching her back as another wave of pleasure assaulted her senses. The maddening sensations that she was experiencing was too good, at first, she thought this was a dream, but this was too wonderful to be a dream. Chris groaned in ecstasy, driving his manhood deeper within her. After many minutes of passionate sex, Taria noticed Chris thrusts began to gradually slow. Moments later Chris had stopped.

"W-Why did you s-stop, Chris?" Taria asked disappointedly. Chris' breathing was shallow and irregular, his forehead covered in sweat.

"I'm sorry Taria… Just, got to c-catch my breath." He replied breathing in and out deeply. Chris gasped in surprise as Taria used her legs and flipped Chris on his back again, with her being on top.

"If you're exhausted…" She said as she started moving up and down on Chris, moaning. "…I-I'll do the work…" She said smiling.

"No… If you w-would just give m-me a min-…" He tried to finish, but Taria silenced him with a passionate kiss, Chris moaned in her mouth, and she moaned in his. Chris rested his hands on her hips as he started to thrust inside her again. She moaned and bit her lip. Taria couldn't get enough of Chris and the feelings that he was inflicting upon her, it was amazing. She moaned loudly as Chris' thrusts sped up. Chris threw a hand up and started to massage her left breast, making her moan more.

"Ahh! C-chris…! Ahh!" Random parts of her body started to twitch in pleasure, Chris smirked at her, and her responses to his thrusts. He liked how she screamed his name, how she moaned in pleasure when he inserted himself inside her, how she trembled at the feeling of him. Suddenly Chris thrusts ceased…

"Wha-" She was interrupted by Chris getting her on her back, her backside pressing on his abs and chest. He picked up her legs, and pressed them against her chest, also keeping her arms pressed on her chest. With his arms around her, he kept her pinned to his body, unable to move. Trapped.

"Wh-What are y-you doing?" She said, Chris didn't answer her, and just re-entered her, causing both to moan loudly. Chris drastically increased the pace of his thrusts, making Taria scream in unbearable pleasure. She wanted to move, but Chris was still keeping her trapped to his body.

"AHH! C-chris, g-go faster! H-harder! P-please!" She said, Chris obliged, thrusting into her harder and faster. She softly screamed and dipped her head back, reveling in the sheer pleasure. Taria's heart was beating so fast she couldn't count, she couldn't even think, the pleasure she was feeling was too much for her. Chris continued to increase the speed of his thrusts, getting them both to moan and scream in ecstasy.

_"S-she feels so g-good…" _Chris thought, writhing in the pleasure. Taria, suddenly started to feel a tingling feeling, which continued to grow every time Chris thrusted himself inside her. Taria's fingers twitched as the tingling feeling began to grow into something she couldn't explain, the only thing that she could say or think about that feeling through her pleasure stricken mind was: Bliss, a complete and utter Paradise. And she knew that Chris was thinking the same. Taria continued to feel the pressure build up inside her, but it became too difficult for her keep holding it back, she looked at Chris, his expression signaled that he was also nearing his end as well. The pressure in her was finally too much to take any longer, at that moment she was then taken over the edge…

"AHH! CHRIS!" Taria screamed, as she experienced her orgasm. Her body trembled with pleasure as her eyes started to roll into the back of her head. Her screaming of his name was enough to bring him to his own breaking point. He moaned loudly as he shot his hot seed inside her, filling her up. Chris thrusted a few more times, and started slowing until his motions until he stopped. Chris released Taria from his hold, allowing her to move again. Then Chris fell limp on the bed, along with Taria. Who was speechless. She slowly turned around, and started to lay by his side, her head resting on his chest. A deafening silence filled the room for a few moments.

"T-That… That w-was… amazing. Y-you were a-amazing." She said in-between breaths.

"You were… are amazing too." He said wrapping an arm around her, pulling her closer. And planting a kiss on her head. Taria looked up and started kissing him. The kiss lasted not too long, but it felt like ages to them.

"Thank you." She said rested her head back down on Chris' chest.

"For what?" He said.

"For coming back to me." She replied.

"…But I'm truly am sorry for being gone for so long. I don't know if anything I could ever do could repay you for making you so depressed and sad, I-" Taria silenced him by re-locking her lips with his. The kiss was sudden, and sweet. She pulled her head away from Chris' and spoke.

"You already have." She said a smile and giggled at him.

"I have?"

"Yes. You came back to me, better late than never I always say. And you also… Made love with me..." She shuttered as she remembered the feeling that she had just experienced not too long ago. "…I loved it. I love you." She finished with a sweet smile.

"I love you too, always and forever." Chris whispered, hugging her tighter.

_"He's mine… forever." _She thought happily.

"You know, I never did think I would find someone like you, someone as special as you, Taria. For as long as I could remember, there was a hole in my heart. Even in my time at the orphanage, no-one, not even any of the other kids really took the time to get to know me. I felt so alone. But, when I first saw you, you made my heart skip a beat. I-" His speech was cut off by Taria's slight snore. She's fallen into a sudden and blissful sleep, eyes closed, and wearing a small smile.

Chris' heart warmed at that sight of her. He smiles and kissed her head.

"Sweet dreams, Taria."

(/\/\/\/\/\)

**Well there ya go guys, hope you liked it. :3**

**And remember to fav, follow, and review!1!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Is this the end?**

(/\/\/\/\/\)

**OMG. Super sorry for the long wait guys. **** Oh, and also a big thanks to all the readers, where would I be if you guys didn't read/like my story. :D A giant internet cookie/cake for all. :3 **

Chris was awakened by a knocking sound, which pulled him out of a dream. He took in a breath of fresh air as his eyes adjusted to the light of the torch that illuminated the room. He felt something weighing down his chest as he breathed in, he smelled something… sweet. He looked down, and saw Taria laying next to him. With a small smile planted on her face.

"Why is she…?" He stopped himself as he remembered back to their passionate night they shared. Chris blushed furiously and smiled. He heard the knocking sounds again. Then he looked at the clock ahead on the wall: 5:59 AM.

"_My best guess is that would be Terashi at the door."_ Chris thought, he gently removed Taria's arms that were around him and quietly stood up from the bed, making sure that he didn't wake up Taria. Even though they would be leaving soon, he wanted to let her have a few more minutes of sleep, she looked so peaceful. Chris bent down and kissed her lightly on the cheek, and picked his clothes up from the floor and proceeded to dress himself. Once fully dressed he left the bedroom and walked toward the front door. He yawned as he slowly opened the door. Chris was correct, Terashi was the one knocking on the door.

"Uh… Hi, Terashi." Chris greeted, rubbing one of his eyes.

"It's time to leave, go get Taria and meet us in the main hall as soon as you can." Terashi stated with a stoic expression.

"Ok, sure." He replied as Terashi started walking away.

"_It's going to be a long day."_ Chris thought and sighed. He closed the door and turned back toward the bedroom. He slowly opened the door and entered, and walked over to the bed where Taria was sleeping. He started to nudge her shoulder, trying to wake her up. But, it wasn't working.

"Hey, Taria…" He said softy. But then, Taria started to speak in her sleep…

"_N-no, Chris… d-don't go… p-please… don't leave me…n-not again…" _She whimpered in her sleep.

"She's having a nightmare? About me leaving? Why is she having that kind of dream?" Chris nudged her shoulder again.

"Taria, it's time to wake up. Come on Taria." No response was received. Chris bent down next to her ear.

"…Taria, wake up…" He said loud enough to get her to groan and roll around in the bed. He shook her once again. She finally cracked an eye open, she turned her head to look at Chris.

"C-Chris? I-is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. It's time to go Taria." Chris said as he walked around the bed and picked up her clothes and handed them over to her.

"I-it… it wasn't a dream…?" She said as she took her garments from Chris.

"What do you mean, Taria?" He looked at her questionably, eyebrow raised.

"L-last night…" She stuttered out as she began to dress herself.

"Of course it wasn't, what we had last night was real... very real." Taria smiled.

"I'm glad." She said. Once fully clothed, she walked over to Chris and threw her arms around his chest and hugged him. Chris blushed.

"I love you." She stated, hugging him tighter.

"I love you too." Chris said, returning the hug. Chris sighed and kissed her forehead, then let her go. But, she didn't let go of Chris.

"Taria, we need to go." He whispered. She sighed and released him from the embrace.

"You're no fun." She said with a smirk. Chris chuckled.

"There's no time for fun, Taria. We need to leave." Taria pouted.

"Do we really need to leave now? I kind of… wanted to have more fun with you…" She said, blushing. Chris suddenly connected his lips with hers in a passionate kiss, his hands went down and rested on her hips. She moaned in Chris' mouth as he pulled her in closer. A few seconds later he pulled his lips away from hers, she giggled playfully.

"As much as I would love to do that with you again, we just don't have that kind of time." Chris explained as Taria pouted again.

"Ok then." She let go of Chris and smiled. "Let me get my armor and weapons then we'll go." She said and turned to walk into a closet close by. She opened the door and bent down and started to rummage through the items stored in the closet.

"I'll be in the main hall with the others; when you're done searching for your things, meet us there." He said as he walked to the door to leave the room.

"Sure thing… And Chris?" Chris stopped walking to reply.

"Yes?"

"I love you." Chris smiled and Taria blushed.

"I love you too." He said and left through the bedroom door. Chris sighed and walked through the living room to the door leading out to the hallway. He was about to open the door to leave, but he heard muffled voices from behind the door. Chris, out of curiosity, put his ear next to the door and started to eavesdrop.

"_Come on… Let's get this done and leave… I don't want to get caught for this…" _A male voice said.

"_No… We shall take our time with this… That thing doesn't deserve to be here…" _Another voice replied. Chris started to get agitated.

"_I think we should just leave…"_

"_No! Our mother was killed by those damn things… Now it's time for one of them to repay the favor…" _Chris' eye twitched and his blood boiled. But, out of curiosity, he continued to listen.

"_B-but…"_

"_No fucking buts… That thing is alone in there. All we need to do is find it, and do what needs to be done and get the hell out of there before anyone finds out…" _At that, Chris knew what their motives were. Chris was beyond pissed. He tried his best to put on a neutral expression, and then he quickly opened that door, surprising the two behind. Standing there, were two teenage boys, both no older than 19. They looked to be identical twins; having shaggy light red hair, blue eyes and both being 5'9. One of them quickly hid something behind their back, probably a weapon of some sort.

"How may I help you two?" Chris said politely, trying to keep the urge to punch the two boys in the face suppressed.

"Oh, I didn't know someone was here. This is C7 isn't it?" It also seems that they didn't know that Chris came back.

"Of course it is, didn't you two read the door?" He replied.

"_Dumbasses…Who the hell do they think they are?"_ Chris thought angrily.

"Well my Name is Duncan and this is my brother, Dan." He said.

"Greetings. Now, I ask again. How can I help you two?" Chris asked again, keeping up his stoic expression.

"Um… Uh… Oh, the council asked us to search the rooms for anything that may threaten this establishment." He said cheerfully. Chris already knew what he said was a lie.

"So… can we come in and have a look around?" The twin on the right said with a fake smile.

"No." Chris stated.

"Huh…? We we're ordered to check all the rooms. If you don't let us in we'll have to g-"

"Cut the crap you little shit. I know what you two are saying is a load of bull. And I also know what you two want. I'm not letting you in, I'm not going to let you hurt her." Chris finished. The expressions of the twins changed, in a bad way.

"Her… It's an it…" He revealed the iron sword that he was hiding behind his back, and pointed it at Chris, the tip of it poking his chest, thinking that he was in control of the situation.

"L-Let us in, or else!" Duncan ordered.

"No." Chris said.

"W-What? You have a sword aimed at your own chest and you still say no?!" Duncan said.

"Whoa, calm down Duncan." Dan said, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Shut up! Let us in damn it!" He shouted.

"No." He said and grabbed Duncan's wrist, keeping the sword at bay, then he head butted him. Duncan let go of the sword and fell to the ground, rubbing his forehead. Chris, now in possession of the sword, pointed it at the fallen twin.

"Now since that's been sorted out. What you two are going to do is leave, and not mess with me or my girlfriend again. Next time you two come back, I will have your heads on a silver platter. And I'm not kidding. I will kill you two if it comes to that." Chris finished in a low voice.

"T-that damn thing is your girlfriend?!" Duncan yelled angrily as he struggled to stand.

"Shut your mouth you little asshole… Now, you two better be leaving..." He said as he threw the sword back at the twins, they flinched as the sword imbedded itself into the wood floor between Duncan's legs. "Or else…" Chris finished. Duncan quickly stood up and grabbed the sword from the ground.

"I-I'm not leaving till I kill that… that… monster!" Duncan shouted. Chris snapped, he balled his right hand into a fist and pulled it back, and drove it forward with great force, his fist landed on Duncan's nose, breaking it. Duncan was pushed back into the wall by the force of the punch, he slid down into the floor, and crimson red blood started rushing out of his shattered nose. He groaned as he struggled to stand, but he failed and slumped on the ground again. His brother rushed to his side and helped him. Wiping the blood from his nose, he stood up, leaning on his brother's shoulder.

"Y-you bastard…" Duncan muttered.

"Well, you got that one right. But I'm not the one looking for blood. Especially on someone that is innocent in the matter. She might look different, but she has nothing to do with what happened to your mother." Chris finished as Duncan coughed.

"What the hell are you talking about…?"

"You two are just too foolish to see the truth of things. I can relate to the feeling of losing a parent."

"How could you relate to that?" Dan asked.

"I never even got the chance to get to know my parents, they abandoned me. At least you still have one."

"How do we know that's true?" Duncan asked.

"Believe what you will, I don't care either way. But what I do care about is you two leaving before I do something I regret. Would your mother want you two to seek revenge on someone who didn't do anything? Someone who is innocent?" Chris questioned.

"N-no…" Dan said.

"It d-doesn't fucking matter, it's not human. I don't want it to be here. That thing is a menace, and should be kil-" The boy was interrupted by Chris grabbing him by his collar, and started to gave him a death stare.

"C-Chris, what's going on?" A feminine voice said from behind Chris. Chris turned his head to look at Taria. She had dawned her shiny gold armor.

"Nothing, just dealing with these punks." Chris replied, letting go of the boy. She walked up and stood to the right of Chris.

"What? You two again?" She said.

"Again?" Chris said, shocked.

"Yeah, they've confronted me more than once. Luckily I had some friends that we're protecting me." She said looking at the two teens. "What the hell is your problem?!" She yelled at them.

"B-Because you're a fucking mons-"

_SLAP!_

Taria slapped Duncan, surprising both his brother and Chris. Duncan started to rub some of the pain from his cheek.

"_Wow. She's mad." _Chris thought.

"I've had enough of your bullshit! Get the hell out of here, go back to where you came from! And don't you dare show your faces around me again!" She was furious. The two boys still stood there in shock. Taria's eye twitched as she growled at them. She then hissed at them, which scared them enough for them to run away.

"Wow. I didn't know you could get that mad." Chris said. Taria sighed.

"Let's just go, we don't have time to talk about it." She said and walked out of the door and into the hallway, with Chris following.

"So… How much trouble have those kids been giving you?" Chris questioned intently.

"More then you can imagine…" She said as she opened the door leading out to the main hall. The two spotted the table where their friends were sitting, they advanced toward the table excitedly to greet them. Terashi saw them, and stood up.

"Glad you two could make it." He said with a smile.

"Good morning you two." Eve said with a yawn as she laid her head on Deric's shoulder.

"Good morning to you too." Taria replied happily.

"I would like to inform you we have extra helping hands and new recruits to help on the journey." Terashi said as he pointed toward the others in the room, Achilles and Isabella and the two new recruits.

"Hello, my name is Jet." One of the recruits said. He looked to be around eighteen years of age. Stood at five foot five inches tall, baby blue eyes and jet black hair, his hair is shifted to one side, covering his right eye. He offered his hand, and Chris vigorously grabbed it and shook it.

"Glad to see others want to help us." He said and released the boy's hand from his iron clad grip. Chris then looked to the other recruit. The recruit cleared his throat.

"Hello, the name is Ace Talon." He appeared to be nineteen years old. Was about as tall as Chris at 6'2, and chocolate brown hair and eyes. Chris gripped Ace's hand in a firm handshake.

"Thanks for joining us Ace. We need all the help we can get." Chris said, letting go of Ace's hand.

"Oh, I forgot to ask something of you Chris." Ace said.

"Yes?" Chris replied.

"I can navigate coordinates fairly well. I was told you procured a note with a location printed on it. May I have it?" Ace asked.

"Uh… Sure." Chris reached into his pocket and grabbed it out and gave it to Ace.

"Thank you kindly." He said re-pocketing the note. Ace turned his head to the green woman beside Chris.

"And who may you be miss…?" He trailed off.

"Taria Castana. Nice to meet you." She said with her usual happy go lucky smile. Chris felt his heart warm at her smile, even in bad times she can still keep a smile on her face, when in times like these others usually couldn't.

"The pleasure is all mine." He stated, bowing. "I must say, that it is enlightening to see someone like you Taria. Now I can forward my knowledge on the mobs." Ace said cheerfully, but Chris suddenly had an uneasy feeling.

"What do you mean?" Chris questioned.

"My knowledge of those creatures is far beyond any library can offer to inform. But with this one thrown into the mix…" He said gesturing to Taria. "…I can finally know what they actually think, or if they're controlled by something like an unknown entity. Oh, this is going to be fun." He finished with a smile that made Taria feel uncomfortable.

"May I ask you a few questions, Taria?" Ace asked.

"Uh…" Taria trailed off.

"No questions… We don't have time." Chris said.

"Oh well… I'll save that for a later time then." Ace said, Chris moved closer to Ace and moved his head his ear, so no-one else could ear.

"I don't like how you put Taria in the same category as the actual monsters." Chris whispered.

"I-I'm terribly sorry, Chris."

"Don't do it again..." He finished as he walked back to Taria's side.

"Anyway, we have all the things we need for the trip. From weapons, to armor, to food. Everything we'll need is in these." Ale said as he passed out a backpack for every person in the group, ranging in colors and sizes. Everyone picked up their backpacks and slung them over their backs.

"Everybody ready to go?" Chris asked the group. Receiving a nod or a "yes" from them.

"Good." Everyone stood up from the table, and started walking toward the exit, which was guarded by two soldiers. As the group walked up to the door, the soldier's moved into their path.

"State your business." One of the them said.

"Classified bitch, now get out of the way before I make you." Chaos said as he pushed past the soldiers with ease.

"Hey, get back here. No-one is supposed to le-" He tried to say as the others walked past them.

"Hey!" He yelled.

"Just let them go. If they want to die, it's their problem." The other soldier said, putting a hand on his comrades' shoulder. After the group left the facility, the iron door was shut behind then, locked tight.

"So, how long will it take to get to those coordinates?" Jet asked as he sped up next to Chris.

"Don't know, but it's going to be awhile."

(/\/\/\/\/\)

"This is the way out? We walked through all of this… just to get to a fucking ladder!?" Chaos cursed.

"Yes. It seems that way." Terashi replied.

"I thought it was never going to end. We must've spent hours getting to this point." Deric said. Ace checked his clock.

"We've only been down here for forty-five minutes." He said. A laugh was shared between the group.

"Thanks for the laugh…" Ale said patting Ace's shoulder. "…We're all going to need one."

"Come on guys, get those asses moving, we don't have time for this." Chaos said as he began to climb the ladder leading to the surface.

"You heard the man." Chris repeated following Chaos up the ladder. Going up about fifty feet, they made it to a trap door. Following Chaos out, he climbed up and out, the trap door lead out to a prairie, or what used to be one. Trenton's forest, or what's left of it, could be seen in the distance. The smoke from all the fire blocked out any sunlight trying to touch the earth, coating the area in complete darkness. Ashes were floating in the air, hindering respiration a bit. The ghasts could still be seen flying above Trenton, and the pigmen still walking around the land, but they didn't seem to notice the group of people come out of the ground. The rest of the group started the climb out of from the trap door. They gasped at the sight of the torched land.

"I… I-I haven't seen Trenton since I left… It's completely destroyed… My home…" Taria said lifting up her visor, revealing her tears.

"Holy shit… This place is decimated… I-I'm sorry Taria." Ale said reassuringly.

"There's no time to think about the past, we need to leave." Terashi stated.

"Yeah." Deric said.

"I've read the location points thoroughly. We need to head south to the mountains close by…" Ace said looking at the old note again.

"_The same mountain range where Chandler and his gang kidnapped Taria before_…" Chris thought, remembering back when he had to save her.

"We have to hike the mountain and get to the other side. Go many more miles and enter a desert. Wherever we're going is in that desert." Ace finished, returning the note back to his pants pocket.

"What do you think it is guys?" Eve asked.

"Like hell I know." Chaos stated

"Could it be a trap?" Deric asked.

"We won't know until we get there." Terashi replied.

"Well, we should go then. But, be careful, try not to tick any monsters off." Chris said as he started to walk toward the mountains.

"Agreed." Jet said. The group started to follow Chris, but suddenly Chris froze.

"Chris…? What's wrong?" Taria asked as she walked up to him. Chris just pointed in front of them. The group looked in the direction Chris pointed. They gasped. The path to their destination was blocked by a horde of zombie pigmen, hundreds of them, about one-hundred meters away.

"Shit!" Chaos cursed. "Well what the hell are we going to do now?" Ace walked to the front of the group.

"Don't worry people, I have a plan." Ace said, walking toward the mob of pigmen ahead of them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Do you have a death wish?!" Chaos yelled.

"Just trust me. Everyone follow my lead." Ace said as he continued to walk away. Terashi was the first to follow. With Terashi being the head tactician of the Ultima Guard, if he trusted Ace to do this, the outcome of the situation couldn't be so bad. Could it? Everyone started to follow Terashi and Ace.

"So what's your plan Ace?" Jet asked as they advanced closer the pigmen.

"Pigmen, by nature, are passive creatures. Unless you look into their eyes. What we're going to do is walk right past them, just don't look at them. Or they'll attack." Ace explained. Chris was nervous to say the least, what if someone accidently looked at these creatures? They'd all be dead before they could even get close to their destination. The group continued to advance toward the deadly creatures, minutes later, they were only a couple yards from the nearest pigman. Chris gulped as he walked into the crowd of pigmen, keeping his gaze to the ground, as was everyone else. And as Ace said, they didn't attack.

"You're plan is actually working? I thought we were all going to die." Chaos whispered.

"Of course it is. But, when we exit this crowd we have to run as fast as we can." Ace replied.

"Why is that?" Deric asked.

"Other monsters might spot us and try to kill us."

"Oh, right." Deric replied halfheartedly, becoming a bit pale.

"If that's that case, then we should increase the pace." Terashi said. The group started moving faster. Chris saw that the number of pigmen started to dwindle. Until they exited the crowd of monsters.

"That went well." Eve said.

"Come on lets go." Chris said, and started to sprint in the direction of the mountains. The group followed behind him.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Chris and company had been running for quite some time, occasionally seeing a pigman or two. The land was hardly recognizable from the fires and the scorch marks. Suddenly something in the landscape caught his eye. The ravine. The same one that he jumped into to save Taria not to long ago. He slowed his sprint down to a jog and stopped. Seeing this, the group stopped as well.

"What's the hold up?" Ale questioned, with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing." He replied.

"Is something wrong, Chris." Taria said with a worried look on her face.

"…N-nothing. Everything's fine…"

"We don't have time to waste, we need to keep going." Terashi stated. Chris nodded as he began to turn back, but he stopped as he saw something… red, close to the ravine. Chris started to slowly walk toward it.

"What is it now?" Achilles asked. Chris didn't answer and continued to talk. At farther examination. The red object was a fully blossomed rose.

"_Even after all this destruction… This little flower still survived." _Chris thought as he bent down and picked the flower form the ash saturated ground. The rose still had a sweet smell to it.

"What are you doing, Chris?" Taria asked, moving closer to him. Chris stood up and faced her, showing her the beautiful rose.

"Is that a rose? I thought all the plant life around here was dead." Ale said, examining the flower closely, admiring its beauty. Chris suddenly moved his other hand up and reached Taria's golden helmet, then he slowly removed it.

"Chris…? W-what are you doing?" She asked nervously, her cheeks darkening slightly. Chris failed to reply as he lifted the flower up and placed it in her ear.

"Perfect." Chris said with a smile, handing her helmet back over to her. Taria's blush darkened.

"T-thanks." She said, taking back the helmet.

"It looks good on you." Chris said, his smile widening. Taria suddenly dropped her helmet and wrapped her arms around Chris, hugging him tightly. Chris, after a few seconds, hugged her back.

"I love you so much. Thank you for the flower, I love it." She said as she tightened her grip around Chris.

"You're welcome."

"You guys are seriously doing this now?! We don't h-"

"Chaos… Leave them be." Terashi stated.

"What?!" Chaos replied, clearly annoyed.

"Let's just go, I scouted this mountain earlier. Where we're walking, the path will cut into two ways. When we get there, we'll just wait for them to get done with their… personal matters. And they'll meet us there." Terashi said.

"Are you serious?!" Chaos questioned. Terashi just stared back at Chaos with his blank expression. Chaos sighed angrily.

"Are you getting soft on me Terashi?" Chaos asked. Terashi failed to continue the argument, and returned to walk on the path to their destination. Chaos sighed again and began to follow Terashi. The others began to follow suit.

"D-don't take too long, ok?" Eve said. As she ran up to Deric and the rest of the group. Who, after a few moments, we're out of sight.

"You know there is still time for you to turn back." Chris stated. Thinking about her safety and well-being.

"No matter what happens Chris. I will always be here with you, through thick and thin. For better and for worse." Taria said and then kissed him on his cheek.

"No-one really says that until they get married." Chris said, smiling.

"Well, maybe after all of this is over, and we both survive. I would… want to… get m-married." She said nervously.

"Well… I'd glady become your husband. When this is all over." He said as he sat down, legs hanging over the side of the ravine. Taria bent down and sat next him. There were no monsters in sight, so they were safe. For now...

Chris wrapped his arm around Taria and pulled her closer to him, warming her up. She rested her head on Chris' shoulder and spoke.

"I just wish we didn't have to fight." Taria stated with a sigh of disappointment.

"Hopefully it'll be over soon." Chris said, and then he kissed her head. She blushed and giggled happily in response to the kiss.

"Everything will be alright." Chris assured.

"Will have to wait and see." Taria replied.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

"I'm going to go back there, and drag them here if they don't hurry up." Chaos said, irritation apparent in his voice. "We've been waiting here for like, seven minutes." Chaos finished.

"Be patient, Chaos." The Ultima Guard's leader said. "You're becoming very irritating."

"I agree." Ace inquired.

"Do you think anything happened to them?" Achilles asked.

"If something happened, we would've heard it. These mountains can give a pretty loud echo." Ace said, gesturing toward the mountain.

"At least we should we go back a check on th-" Eve tried to say as her attention was brought to two figures some feet away. The group looked in the direction of the silhouette. Chris and Taria had returned.

"What took you guys so long?" Chaos questioned.

"We were just talking. But, we weren't gone that long." Chris replied.

"Yeah, like, maybe seven or eight minutes." Taria said as Chaos sighed.

"Whatever." Chaos said as he started walking into the two way path and turned to the left path, and started climbing up a hill.

"Glad to see you guys didn't get ambushed and killed by those monsters." Deric said as he began to follow Terashi and Chaos and the others.

"Come on guys, we have a lot of ground to cover." Jet called out before re-entering the group.

"Well, I guess it's time to go Taria." Chris said.

"Yes. Let's go." Taria said as they started walking up the path.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

A single crow has been watching the group as they continued to hike the mountain. Suddenly a echoing call drew the attention of the crow. The black bird jumped off the tree branch it was sitting on and began to fly to the top of the mountain. Once there, it landed on the shoulder of a person, a person hidden in the shadows. Their purple eyes glowing menacingly. The crow began to 'speak' into the person's ear.

"Thank you, my little friend." A gruff masculine voice said. "So, there's eleven of them. Should be easy enough." The crow hopped off of the man's shoulder and flew away, out of sight.

"I don't like when people trespass on _my _land. After they see the bodies, no-one will ever step foot here again…"

**Cliffhanger?**

**This chapter isn't as long as the others, sorry. Anyways guys. Here's chapter 11, again sorry for the long wait for it. Life can be like a blocker sometimes. **

**Remember to favorite, follow and review. Tell me how you like the new chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

(/\/\/\/\/\)

"How much longer do we have to hike this damn mountain?!" Chaos yelled. The group has been traveling up the mountain for hours; they couldn't tell if the sun was up or not. The smog was blocking the sky, and the temperature has been decreasing the higher they went up.

"Cease your complaining, Chaos. It won't be too long before we get to the top." Terashi said, trying to calm his comrade down. Chaos sighed and continued to walk.

"It's f-freezing up here." Eve said, her body shaking slightly. Deric saw this and put an arm around her, pulled her close to his body in an attempt to try to warm her up.

"We're going to have to deal with it for a while it seems." Ace said. "We are only three-quarters of the way up the mountain." He finished, putting his hands in his pockets.

"C-could we stop or something… I'm exhausted." Eve said, breathing rapidly.

"I second that." Jet said, wiping some sweat off his brow.

"We have a lot more land to cover. I don't think it is a good idea for us to stop at this point." Ace said.

"But, it could be." Terashi replied.

"What do you mean?" Ace asked the tactician.

"If they are too exhausted, and we keep going like this, they would be too tired to fight, leaving us two dead party members." Terashi said. "So it's in the best interests of the group if we stop and let them rest for a period of time."

"I guess Terashi is right about that. Ok, everyone stop, we're taking a break." Chris announced.

"Thank the maker!" Eve yelled into the sky as she laid down on the ground. "I think I have boils on my feet." She continued and pouted, rubbing her feet. Deric sat down next to her.

"Ok, everyone take your rest if you need to." Ace said. Most of the group sighed in relief and sat on the ground.

"Hey, what time is it?" Ale asked. Ace took a clock out of his backpack.

"It's 3:30 AM." Ace answered.

"Wow. We've really been out here that long?" Deric questioned.

"Seems that way." Terashi replied, sitting down with the rest of the group.

"Well, I guess it's time to hit the hay." Ale said, laying down on the ground, yawning.

"I suppose it is." Terashi stated.

"Don't have a problem with that." Chaos said happily as he began to stretch his limbs while yawning.

"But, we need someone to stay awake, just in-case something happens." Terashi said.

"I'll do it." Chris volunteered, sticking his hand in the air.

"Good, 'cause I'm sure not doin' it." Chaos said with a light chuckle. Chris took the backpack off of his back, and started searching through it. Pulling out an unlit torch and a flint and steel, then he walked to the center of the circle of people and plunged the torch in the ground and lit it, illuminating the area around them. He returned back to his backpack, returned the flint and steel back inside it and zipped it back up. Then sat back down next to Taria.

"Well, good night everyone." Eve announced, yawning. And within the next hour, one by one, everyone else fell into a deep sleep. Taria was nudged up against Chris, and he had an arm around her. The call for sleep has been bugging Chris for quite some time now, but he just ignored it for the time being. After all, he had to stay up to protect the rest of the group. But, suddenly Taria started to move slightly, and started whimpering in her sleep.

"_Is she having another nightmare?"_ Chris pondered. Nightmares were one of the only things Chris couldn't help with, the torment she has been though over the years has taken its toll on her mind, and being gone for those three months only made it worse. Chris desperately tried to do all he could to heal her wounds, physical and emotional. But, there are some things that can't be done. Chris has read many books in his time, a couple of them relating to Taria's situation. What the books said is that: "Time heals all wounds."

Chris hoped that what it said was right. He couldn't bear to see her in distress, and that there was nothing he could do about it, except for being there for her when she needs him. Leaving her like he did three months prior was one of the hardest things he had to do in his entire life. Her life had been hard and unfair, and hopefully Chris being there for her will help her. Chris sighed and held her closer to his body. Chris looked up. Despite not seeing a single star from the smog blocking out the sky, Chris started to wish upon a star, that he couldn't even see.

_"I-I know that I've never asked for anything, b-but, if there is any godly forces in the universe, please… don't take her away from me. She means too much to me. The global invasion, there is too much of them and not enough of us… If we keep going like this, we'll all be wiped out sooner or later, they'll overwhelm us at some point, I can't deny that. I feel like the entire weight of the world is on my shoulders, all because some people call me "The Key". I don't even know what that's supposed to mean."_ Chris sighed.

_"I don't think we have the strength or numbers to fight these things. But, if there is anyone or anything up there, I ask… I ask that you could give us the strength to go on and fight, for the sake of the world, and for the sake of all the life on it. And to give me the strength to keep Taria safe from harm… She means the world to me… I don't want anything to happen to her… I would be nothing if she was gone…"_ Chris thought as he looked down at Taria to see her still whimpering next to him. Chris sighed, leaned down and kissed her head.

"Don't fret Taria. I'm here. I'll stay by your side, for as long as I live. I'll never leave you again, I'll never abandon you. I promise you that." After he said that, it seemed that Taria stopped whimpering, and started to sleep more peacefully. Chris smiled and his heart fluttered.

"Taria, I love you, with all my heart. Sweet dreams." He said.

"I-I love you too." Taria responded. Chris was surprised to hear her speak.

"T-Taria? You're awake? When…?" He asked as Taria yawned.

"I-I remember having a terrible nightmare, a-about you leaving me again… saying that you didn't love me anymore, that you hated me." She started to tear up slightly. "B-but, then I heard a voice, calling too me, your voice. Telling me not to be scared. And that you loved me, t-that you loved me with all your heart." Taria said. "I-I woke up just before you kissed me on the head, I could still feel the warmth of the kiss." Taria finished as Chris wiped away some of the tears from her face.

"There's no need to cry, Taria. I'll always be here for you." Chris said with a smile.

"I know you will." She said with a small smile plastered on her face. "C-can I uh… stay up with you?" She asked.

"You can if you want. I won't stop you." Chris said, and then Taria giggled.

"Good." She said flirtatiously. Chris was slightly confused by how she said that word. But it wouldn't matter within a few seconds, because this thoughts were interrupted as Taria inched closer to Chris and moved on top of him, straddling him.

"U-uh… W-what are you doing, Taria?" Chris questioned nervously. Taria never answered him, she just winked at him and closed her eyes and began to lean forward slowly, until the space between their lips were just centimeters from each other. She stopped leaning in at that point, almost like she was teasing him. Soon, Taria leaned in the rest of the way and started kissing Chris passionately. Chris wrapped his arms around Taria's waist, eliciting a moan out of her. As the kiss grew more passionate, Chris began to give in, ignoring the fact that he volunteered to provide over-watch so that the others could rest. Chris began to press his lips harder on hers, sticking his tongue inside Taria's mouth. Taria moaned again, but then she tried to take off some of her armor. That is when Chris had to make a decision. He suddenly removed his lips from Taria's, not only just to say something, but also for oxygen.

"…T-Taria… We have to stop…" He said with shallow breathing.

"What…? Why…?" Taria asked, disappointed. Chris sighed.

"…I-I'm sorry. But, this isn't really the time or the place for uh… what we we're about to do. And, I'm pretty sure neither of us will be able to keep our mouths shut during… We'll probably wake everyone up."

"Oh." She replied as she blushed out of embarrassment. Chris quickly pulled Taria into another kiss, the intensity of the kiss increasing every moment. After a few seconds Chris released Taria from the heated kiss.

"…We could just lie here together, until we have to resume our quest in the morning."

"I'd like that." She replied with a large grin. She nudged closer to Chris' side, laying her head on his chest.

Suddenly, something caught Chris' eye. He turned his head to the right and saw part of the smog parting, revealing the moon. A single comet, soaring behind it. Even though the moon lost its original color, it still retained its beautiful look.

"Hey, Taria. Up there, look." Chris said. Taria looked up and gasped in delight at the natural beauty of the stars and the moon.

"It's beautiful." She stated, amazed.

"Yes. Yes it is." Chris replied.

"…D-do you think everything will turn out fine for us in the end?" Taria stuttered out.

"There's no way for us to tell what will happen to us in the future. All we can do is hope. Hope that things will go our way." Chris said.

"…I love you." Taria suddenly said.

"I love you too, Taria." Chris smiled, and Taria smiled back.

"I-I think I'm going to go back to sleep." Taria murmured with a yawn.

"Ok. Sleep tight, Taria." Chris replied. And, after a few minutes, Taria's soft snoring could be heard. Chris sighed and held her tighter, trying to give her a sense of safeness.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Chris was suddenly in a deep darkness, the same darkness that he experienced before.

"Ah. It's good that you decided to visit me again, little one." An echoing voice said, a very familiar voice.

"You again?" Chris said.

"…Yes." The voice confirmed.

"…What do you want?" Chris asked.

"To tell you the truth Chris, I need to ask something of you." The voice said. "That is, if you're going to hear me out."

"I guess I don't really have a choice now do I? What do you want?" Chris questioned curiously.

"Well, when you wake up. You're going to be attacked by a creature, a formidable one."

"…And what does that have to do with me…?" Chris asked.

"I want it to be unharmed. Do whatever you need to do to protect the group, but I want him unharmed."

"WHAT! What if it kills some of us?!" Chris yelled, the voice never replied. "What am I supposed to do then?!"

"HEY! YOU THERE?!" Chris yelled angrily. "ANSWER ME!"

"Just trust me, Chris. I must go now."

"Hey!" Chris yelled again. _"Man, this guy never gives me a lot of information to go on. But, why would the voice want me to not lay a finger on something that could kill us?"_ Chris pondered.

_…HEY…! WAKE UP…! _Someone's faint voice called out.

_"Who's that?" _Chris thought. Suddenly Chris felt a pain in the side of his face, he closed his eyes, then re-opened them and saw that Chaos punched him in the side of his head. He was back in the real world

"Finally! You were supposed to keep watch if anything happened!" Chaos yelled angrily.

"What happened? Did I fall asleep?" Chris asked as he rubbed the red fist mark on his cheek.

"Yes you did! And you let those things slip by!" Chaos pointed a finger up to the tip of the mountain, and Chris saw three ghasts flying around the top of the mountain. The monsters seemed to be too high to notice the group.

"We just woke up a couple of minutes ago." Taria stated, sitting beside Chris.

"Thank Notch those things didn't see us." Achilles said with a sigh of relief.

"They probably arrived somewhere between one to two hours ago." Terashi explained.

"What are those things doing here?" Deric said, as he crouched down with the others.

"I… I don't know. But, it looks like they're searching for something…" Terashi was right about his observation, but those creatures weren't searching for them. If they were, they won't be circling the top of the mountain. Those things are looking for someone or something else.

"What should we do?" Jet whispered to the group.

"I don't know, there's no trees to hide behind. And, they have the higher ground. They have the advantage against us." Terashi said.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing." Isabella ushered. Terashi started thinking about the situation…

"I have an idea." Chaos said.

"You have ideas? I just thought you had a hollow head." Chris said with a chuckle, trying to piss Chaos off for fun.

"Shut your trap, asshole… Anyway, my idea was to get all the archers in our squad to simultaneously shot the eyes of those monsters. We have three archers here, Chris, Terashi and Isabella. You three will take positions at tactical points at places faraway from each other. So, if any of them survive the attack, they won't be able to pin-point exactly where the attack came from." Chaos finished, dropping his back pack on the ground and started to rummage through it. A second later he pulled out is diamond chain-sword.

"And just in-case my plan goes to shit, which it most likely could. We're going to have to go all out."

"Ok, we're going with Chaos' plan, but, do you have a back-up plan?" Terashi said as he pulled his bow from his pack back, as well as Chris and Isabella.

"Nope. You know me, I don't really think that far." Chaos replied, smirking

Suddenly an explosion was heard from up the mountain. One of the three ghasts started to fall from the sky. The left side of its face was blown completely off.

"What the fuck was that?! Who did that?!" Chaos said, readying himself for battle. The falling ghast flew right over the group's heads, its blood falling from its fatal wound. It screeched as it crash landed just a couple meters behind them. It seemed to be dead, the pool of blood forming around it signified that. Looking back at the ghasts flying ahead, the group saw something or someone shot out from the top of the mountain and latch into onto one of the ghasts, after a few seconds the ghasts screamed loudly. Everyone covered their ears to shield them from the screech. Seconds later the creature fell limp in the sky and began to fall and landed on the mountain next to its other fallen comrade

Seeing that its fellow ghasts were killed, the last one quickly flew away. It flew just above Chris' head; the ghast must've been too scared to notice them. The creature was flying in Trenton's general direction, probably going back to procure reinforcements. It wouldn't take too long for those things to be back. But, in the back of Chris' mind he thought: _"What was that thing that drove the ghasts away…?" _Chris' thoughts were interrupted by Chaos' voice.

"Hey uh, guys!" Chaos yelled.

"What is it?" Terashi asked.

"Up there!" Chaos said pointing to the top of the mountain. Everyone turned their heads to the mountain top to see a silhouette, a silhouette of what looked to be a person, but it was too far away and to dark to make anything out. But, whatever it was, it had large wings and a tail.

"I have a bad f-feeling about this." Eve said.

"Everyone! Pull out your weapons and armor. I think we may have to fight this thing, whatever it is." Terashi ordered. Chris was the fastest one to acquire his iron armor, soon after everyone else put on their protective gear. Everyone got into a fighting stance, archers aimed their bows at the entity on the mountain top. It suddenly jumped off the mountain and started flying towards the group at a very high speed.

"INCOMING!" Chaos yelled. It was so fast, before anyone could do anything, it smashed into Chaos, sending him flying a couple feet away. The silhouette flow away of out of sight before anyone could get a shot out on it. Terashi ran over to his downed comrade. Chaos was alive, but unconscious.

_"That thing hit him hard enough to knock him out?"_ Terashi thought, astonished. Not many things in the world could knock out Chaos in one blow.

"What the hell just happened?" Achilles asked.

"Don't know. But, whatever that thing is, it's coming back!" Isabella warned. "Chris, watch out! It's coming for you!"

The entity began to dive, trying to do the same thing that it did to Chaos. But, Chris had an idea. As the entity speed its way closer to Chris, he put his arms up, in an attempt to catch or stop it. Seconds after he put his plan into motion, the entity shoulders landed in Chris' hands. The force of the push exerted in Chris made his slide back a couple feet and also broke both of his arms. Chris winced in pain as he fell to the ground. The being began to pull a strange looking sword out of a sheath attacked to its back.

"CHRIS!" Taria yelled, as she ran over the entity, and tackled it, trying to give Chris time to fall back. But, the creature stood up with Taria still holding on, then it started to fly up. Terashi and Isabella took aim at the creature, but they couldn't take any shots at it, they'd risk shooting Taria. Suddenly, the winged entity tore itself from Taria, dropping her from fifty feet in the air. Once she hit the ground, there was an audible cracking sound.

"AHHH!" Taria screamed, clutching her right leg in pain.

"T-Taria!" Chris yelled as he stood up, wincing in pain. The pain was too much; he fell to the dirt again. Terashi and Isabella began to open fire, the creature dodged the barrage of arrows and flew back up into the night sky, out of sight.

"Damnit! Where did it go?!" Chaos yelled.

"Don't know!" Ale replied as he looked over to Chris, who was writhing in pain in the ground. Ale ran to Chris' side, trying to pick him up and drag him to a safer position as the others gave watch.

"…No! Wa-wait!" Chris struggled to say every word. "…T-Taria… Help Taria first…" Chris finished as he pointed a finger at Taria, who was also in extreme pain. Ale did as Chris asked and ran over to Taria.

"Can you walk?" Ale asked.

"N-no. M-my leg is broken…" She said. Ale bent down and tried to pick Taria, but she screamed in pain as soon as he touched her. He retracted his hands quickly and spoke.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm pretty sure it's not just your leg let's broken." He said as Taria groaned in pain.

"I'm sorry, but we got to get the injured out of the battle field." Chaos said as he walked over to Ale. Chaos bent down and picked Taria up, ignoring her cries of pain.

"Hey! B-be careful with her!" Chris ordered. Chaos just ignored him and carried Taria away to the others. Achilles ran over to Chris to help him.

"Are you OK?" Achilles asked.

"NO! Does it look like I'm OK? My arms are broken!" Chris exclaimed.

"Achilles, drag Chris' ass over here!" Chaos ordered. "We'll keep watch." Chaos finished as a monstrous roar was heard from above.

"What the hell was that?!" Jet said, terrified.

"It's probably that thing that attacked us." Terashi stated. "Keep your guard up everyone!" Chris started watching the sky for whatever that thing is, and saw absolutely nothing.

_"Where did that thing go?" _Chris thought as more pain assaulted his senses. Suddenly, another roar was heard from above.

"It's like its taunting us." Chaos said. "It's pissing me off."

Chris looked up and saw something shoot out from the sky. It was that beast, diving at Chris. Achilles was still next to Chris, trying to drag his heavy body. No-one else seemed to notice it above.

"A-Achilles…" Chris said.

"What is it?" Achilles replied.

"G-go back to the others!" Chris warned.

"What? Why…?"

"Just g-" Chris was cut off by the creature landing on Chris' chest. Crushing him and shattering the chestplate he was wearing and many of his ribs. He couldn't even scream from the immense pain as his lungs filled with blood, the blood rushed up through his throat and coughed it all up.

"Holy shit! Where'd it come from!?" Chaos exclaimed.

"C-Chris!" Taria yelled. The creature stood up, still standing on Chris' body. "Get off of him you bastard!" Taria continued. The beast growled as it looked down at Chris. Achilles drew out his iron sword and charged at the beast. In retaliation, the beast just back-handed Achilles, sending him twenty feet away and also knocking him unconscious.

"Achilles!" Isabella yelled. The creature looked back down at Chris, and spoke.

"Still alive, human?" It said in a gruff inhuman voice. It lifted up its clawed foot and stomped Chris' face.

"Chris...! Ch_ris…! Chris…!..." _Taria screaming his name was the last thing he heard before he blacked out…

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Chris suddenly opened his eyes, breathing in sharply. He felt extremely light headed. He looked down to his feet. He was being hung from the ceiling, shackles clamped around his ankles to keep him suspended. It looks like the beast put him in a jail cell of sorts. But why would it need to keep him here if it was only trying to kill them? And why was Chris the only one upside down? Probably because it thought he was already dead.

"…H-Hey anyone there…?!" Chris shouted, receiving no response… Until…

"I-Impossible!" A masculine voice from down the hallway said.

"Who's there?!" Chris yelled again. A figure walked out from the hallway and stopped in front of the cell. The figure walked into the light of a torch, revealing who it was. It was that beast, but it wasn't an it. It was a he. He looked like to be a mix of human and… something else. He stood at 5'10.5, black short cut hair, and a mix of blue and purple eye color. He wore armor, a gold helmet with a dragon decal, an iron chest plate with slits in the back to let his bat-like wings, which was seven feet from either end, to have free movement. Leather leggings and iron boots.

He sported a nasty scar, going diagonally across his purplish scale-patterned face. He also looked to be around Taria's age, and had pointed ears.

"How are you still alive, human? I crushed you." He said furiously, pointing a clawed finger at Chris as he snarled, showing his sharp teeth.

"As you can see, you didn't finish me off..." Chris replied. "…Who are you? And why did you attack me and my group?"

"Because you people trespassed into my damn land!" The beast replied.

"Hey! We didn't know this land was yours! We were just trying to cross the mountain to get to the other side." Chris said.

"And why would you people need to do that?" He asked.

"I'm not just going to give out that information." Chris replied. "Now, where are my friends?" Chris asked sternly.

"Your 'friends' are in their own individual cells." He answered.

"How long have we been here?"

"Well, how did you put it… Oh yes. 'I'm not just going to give out the information.'" He said with a chuckle, mimicking what Chris said earlier.

"Anyway, you won't need to worry about it any longer." He stated stoically.

"What do you mean?" Chris asked curiously.

"...Later, I'm going to take each and every one of you people and impale you into wooden logs, while you're still alive. And place them at the entrance to the mountain trail, so no-one will ever want to step foot here, monster or human." He finished with a smirk. Chris was horrified.

"Dude! That's fucked up!" Chris shouted angrily.

"So? Why should I care if it's fucked up or not?" He said as a rebuttal. "Anyway, I have to go. It was nice speaking to you." He finished as he began to walk away.

"Wait!" Chris yelled.

"Well since you're going to die, I might as well listen. What is it?"

"Can you do something for me?" The other man raised an eye-brow.

"What would that be?"

"There was a woman in our group, she wore gold armor…" Chris said.

"The one I dropped from fifty feet, yes. What about her?" He said.

"Well, her name is Taria, and I was wondering if you could just let her go... I know it's something stupid to ask of you… You can do whatever you want to me. Just let her go, please…" Chris finished as the winged man laughed.

"Why would I ever let someone like her ou-… Wait... Wait a minute, you said her name was Taria, right?" He said. Chris' eyebrow rose.

"Yeah…"

"…As in Taria Castana?" Chris was surprised. How did he know…?

"…H-how do you know her full name?" Chris asked curiously. The winged man lost some of the color in his face, becoming paler every second.

"Does she have green skin?!" He yelled franticly.

"How did you know that?" Chris replied. What was the point that this guy was trying to make?

"…What have I done…? Oh God, why haven't I noticed this before!?" He yelled. As he unlocked Chris' jail cell with key he grabbed out of his pocket and opened the iron door.

"What are you talking about?" Chris said, dumbfounded.

"I'll explain everything on the way. I've got to get you out of here." He said, surprising Chris again. He used his key again and unlocked the shackles, making him fall to the cold stone floor.

"Ouch." Chris yelled.

"Come on, let's go!" The winged man said, walking out of the jail cell. Chris slowly stood up and shook his head, trying to get rid of his disorientation. After a few seconds, Chris began to follow the other man.

"My name is Michael Logan Black, by the way." He said.

"Uh… Hello Michael… I wish we could've met on better terms…" Chris said. The two walked through a long and dark hallway, pasting by many other cells.

"Oh god… I dropped her from fifty feet, what is she going to think…?" Michael said anxiously. As much as Chris wanted to punch Michael in the face for that, he continued to follow him, curious as to how he knows Taria.

"She'll be fine." Chris stated.

"How do you know that?" Michael asked.

"I just do…" Chris replied.

"…But, how do you know Taria?" Chris questioned intently.

"Like I said earlier, I'll explain everything when we get to her cell." Michael replied with a sigh. Chris stayed silent and continued to follow until Michael stopped just before reaching an iron door.

"You go in." Michael whispered.

"…Ok." Chris replied. "Can I have the key?" Chris asked. Michael took the key from his pocket and gave it to Chris, who unlocked and opened it. Chris walked in to see Taria on her side, in the corner. Her back was facing him and she wasn't moving. Chris slowly took a step closer to her unmoving body.

_"…I-is she dead?"_ Chris thought. Chris put a hand on her shoulder and turned her so she would lay on her back, dried tears covered her face.

"Is she Ok?" Michael asked from outside the room.

"She cried herself to sleep…" Chris stated as Michael sighed.

"Hey, Taria wake up…" He said. No response from the sleeping woman. Chris bent down, his mouth next to her head.

"Taria, please, wake up... I need you to wake up…" Chris whispered as he gently shook her. Seconds later, Taria yawned as she slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes went wide as her eyes landed on Chris' face.

"Chris…? Chris!" She yelled as she threw her arms around Chris' neck and began to hug him. Chris hugged back and sighed. A couple moments later, Chris released Taria from the hug and stood up. Chris offered his hand to Taria, she cheerfully grasped his hand and stood up alongside Chris.

"H-how did you get out, Chris?" Taria asked.

"Yeah, about that… Michael, you can come in now." Chris said as Michael came into the cell. Taria gasped.

"What is that thing doing here?" Taria questioned.

"Y-you don't remember me…?" Michael said disappointedly. "It's me Micheal… Micheal Logan Black." Taria stayed silent.

"Don't you remember all those years ago? When I first laid my eyes on you, you were still human…" Chris eyes widened at Michael's statement.

_"What is that supposed to mean?"_ Chris thought.

"I was the one who helped you escape…" Michael stated.

_"She didn't escape on her own…?"_

"I helped you whe-" Michael was interrupted by voice soft voice.

"…M-Michael…? Micky? Taria stuttered out.

"Yes." Michael replied with a toothy smile. Taria slowly stepped over to Micheal, and hugged him. Causing Michael to blush a deep red.

"I missed you." Taria stated, releasing him from the hug, and then she walked back to Chris' side.

"If I had to say anything, I would say I'm extremely sorry for what I did. And if I had known the wiser, I wouldn't have attacked you people. I-I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me." Michael finished with a sunken expression.

"It's Ok Michael. You didn't know." Taria replied with a smile.

"Y-you… You forgive me…? Even after I a-attacked you, and dropped you from roughly fifty feet in the air, b-breaking most of your bones?"

"Yes, I forgive you." Taria replied.

"By the way, if I did break most of your bones, how are you standing right now?" Michael asked, Taria was about to answer, but was interrupted by Chris.

"I still haven't been told how you two know each other." Chris said.

"Taria and I shall explain all of that later. First, let's get your friends out of their cells." Michael said.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

After Chris, Taria and Michael had released most of the others, Chaos was the last one. The group stood outside his jail cell as Michael unlocked it. They looked in, but Chaos was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd he go?" Michael asked.

"I don't know…" Chris said as he entered the cell. Suddenly, Chaos dropped from the ceiling of the cell.

"AHH!" Chaos sounded one of his many battle cries as he landed on Chris.

"HA! I got you now!" Chaos shouted proudly.

"Dude! What the fuck are you doing?!" Chris yelled angrily.

"Chris? Oh shit! I thought you were that thing." Chaos replied.

"…Are you going to get off me? You know it was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve…" Chris said, raising giggles and chuckles from the others, Chaos immediately got off of Chris and brushed himself off. Chris stood up and also brushed himself off.

"Well that was awkward…" Chaos stated. "Hey! What's everyone doing here? And why is that thing with them!" Chaos continued. "Why isn't it being stabbed?!" He said popping his knuckles.

"I was skeptical at first too. But it seems Taria and Michael…" Chris started, gesturing to the winged man. "…know each other somehow… They seemed to be friends at some point."

"So he is a friendly…?" Chaos asked.

"…I think so." Chris replied.

"…I'm terribly sorry for attacking you… " Michael said. Chaos leaned over to Chris ear.

"I'm not buying it." Chaos whispered.

"If he didn't mean it, he probably wouldn't be letting us out." Chris countered.

"I guess…" Chaos finished as he walked over to the group. "I'm keeping my eyes… eye on you, Michael…" Chaos said as Chris sighed.

"Ok people, follow me upstairs, you guys are probably famished." Michael announced.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

Michael lead the others upstairs, where they sat down in respective furniture around a small round table. Chris sat down next to Taria on a couch near the corner of the living room that they were led to.

"So… How do you and Taria know each other?" Chris asked.

"Well it's kind of a long story, so you might want to get comfortable." Michael replied. "Well, it all happened fifteen years ago…"

_ "LET ME GO!" A boy shouted while he was being pulled along a dark corridor._

_"Throw him in the cell. We'll proceed with further experiments with Subject 1 later." Ordered a man in a white lab coat, there was a name tag on his coat, it read: Dr. Kurk Matthias. PHD_

_"Yes sir." A man in iron armor said as he opened a nearby cell and threw the boy inside, and locked the cell door. The boy wiped tears away from his face as he leaned up._

_"Don't worry kid, you'll have company soon." The doctor said, walking away with his guard. The boy stood up and took in his surroundings, desperately trying to find a way out. But, there was no way out of the cell without having the key._

_"…How could these jerks do this to me?!" The young newly-turned Michael yelled from within his small jail cell. "…Turning me into this… How could t-they do such a thing. Turning me into this… monster…" The poor boy finished, examining his new features with tears in his eyes._

_It has been a week since he was taken from his loving family... The last thing he saw of his mother and father was them being slaughtered right before his very eyes, before the men in white took him from his home._

_"W-what did I do to d-deserve this?" Michael said, his voice trembling at every word. "W-why did this have to happen to me…?" He finished as he walked to the corner of the room and slumped down, crying. He sat there in solitude for many more lonely hours, until he heard a high pitched voice._

_"Let me go, please! W-where are you taking me?!" _

_"Shut up! Man, this one is way more annoying." Dr Matthias said as he unlocked the cell again. The guard then threw in a little girl into the cell with Michael. _

_"Don't get too comfortable Subject 2. You'll be needed for your experimentations in a few hours…" The doctor announced as he left the two children in the cell. Michael looked over to the girl that was in distress. Michael walked over to the girl and offered her his hand. She looked up at him, and yelped, and backed up into the corner. She was frightened, frightened by Michael's appearance._

_"…W-wh… What a-are you?" The girl asked, terrified. Michael froze, he also wanted to know the answer to that question._

_"I-I don't know…" Michael replied, saddened._

"Wait, hold up." Chaos said, interrupting Michael.

"What?" Chris asked.

"When I read Dr. Matthias' file, it said that he was only working on one subject. Not two."

"Michael here, was a classified experiment, his identity and experiment sessions kept out of all files and databases. But, I'm not really sure why…" Taria replied.

"Anyway, as I was saying…" Michael said, as he started to continue.

_"Were you t-taken from your family too…?" Michael asked, keeping his distance from the girl._

_"…Y-yes…" She replied, wiping some of the tears from her face, only they were being replaced by new ones._

_"M-my name is Michael Black." The boy said timidly._

_"H-hello… M-Michael…" the girl stuttered, still very scared._

_"…What's your name?" Michael asked._

_"…T-Taria… Taria C-Castana…" She answered. "W-where am I?" she asked._

_"I-I don't know... I wish I did… I've been here for a week and they turned me into this...thing…" Michael said, flaring his wings. This made Taria cower in the corner even more._

_"I-I'm sorry, if I scared you… I-I didn't mean too." Taria stayed silent, but she stopped cowering. Michael walked over to Taria, and offered his hand again._

_"Friends…? Since we're going to be stuck here together." He said, trying to make light of the situation. Taria looked up at him, looking into his purplish blue eyes with her emerald green ones. She lifted herself up and grasped Michael's palm._

_"F-friends." Taria replied._

"…And that's how we meet." Michael finished.

"Yeah. It was pretty tough back then." Taria said. "We had to rely on each other for survival. He was my only friend at the time."

"But, how did you get out?" Isabella asked.

"I'll be getting to that in a second." Michael replied. "Anyway…"

_It has been a whole week since the two kids met, they had been enjoying each other's company, but when Michael woke up this morning, Taria was gone. _

_"Where is she? Where could've she gone to?" Michael asked himself as he looked around the room. Michael was afraid, scared that he wouldn't see her again._

_"Where could she be?" Michael said. His question would be answered soon. Suddenly he heard the multiple steps of people walking closer to his cell. Dr. Matthias and his goons were rolling a stretcher to the cell, Taria was strapped down on the stretcher. She was unconscious, and her appearance has changed drastically. She had green skin, and her brunette hair changed to a charcoal black. They changed her like they changed him. A guard removed the restraining binds holding her wrists and ankles, then opened the cell door and laid Taria on the ground next to Michael and walked out, re-locking the cell._

_"Matthias, when do you think we can mass produce the drones?" The guard asked._

_"…It may take weeks or it may take years. We still need to extract the coding within their DNA before we can duplicate anything, and it's a very long procedure." Matthias replied as they walked away, out of sight. Michael moved slowly to Taria's unconscious form. _

_"What did they do to you…?" Michael thought. He leaned over to examine Taria better. All he heard from her was her soft snoring. Her small chest rising and falling from her steady breathing. Suddenly, Taria's eyes snapped open. She was awake; Michael would usually be excited to see the vibrant color of her light green eyes. But, all he saw was blackness. She slowly leaned up, yawning._

_"Good Morning, Michael." She started with a smile. "Uh… Why are you looking at me like that?"_

_"Look at yourself, Taria." Michael replied. Hesitantly, Taria looked down at her hands. She gasped seeing the green color of her skin._

_"…W-what h-happened to me…?" She asked._

_"I-I don't know… But, whatever they did to me, they did to you too."_

_"Thisss isss horrible." She said. She covered her own mouth with her hands, surprised of how she can't control how she says words with an 's' in them. _

"Wait, when you were first 'turned' , you said words like that?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I did. Michael helped me control it. Now it's almost unnoticeable." Taria said happily.

"I have a question." Ale announced, as he took a bite from a watermelon Michael had given him.

"Ask away." Michael replied.

"How long were you two captured by that scientist guy?" Ale said as he took another bite.

"…Three long years…"

_"I hope we don't have any more experiments and testing today." Taria said, sitting next to Michael. "It's really starting to hurt…"_

_"I wish I could help." Michael replied as his ears perked up. He heard a group of people walking closer. "Someone is coming." _

_"The subjects better meet up to my standards, Matthias." A woman said as she walked up and stopped in front of the cell, observing the two children._

_"Is this it?" She asked the doctor._

_"Yes. For now, the drones are still in the works, but they will be finished soon, madam."_

_"They'd better be, or you know what's going to happen." The doctor froze._

_"O-of course, madam Cadence."_

_"Is it possible for me to observe these two in any 'in the field' tests?" She asked._

_"I'm so sorry, madam. But, I haven't had a change to wipe their minds and weaponize them yet." _

_"W-wipe our minds and… w-weaponize us?" Michael thought anxiously._

_"Well hurry up Matthias. Or I'll do worse then pull your funding." She threatened._

_"O-of course, madam." He replied as she walked away, out of view from the children._

_"Well, I guess it's time for the next stage: Weaponizing. Open the gate." Matthias ordered. The guard unlocked the door and walked closer to the two children._

_"No matter what happens Taria, I'll protect you." He whispered. Just as the guard was going to grab the children, multiple explosions was heard, the ground shook._

_"What the hell was that?!" Dr. Matthias yelled._

_"I don't know…" Another guard said. "Should we go check on it? Maybe another capsule exploded."_

_"I don't think so… They don't sound like that." Matthias replied._

_ "Dr Matthias!" A soldier yelled as he ran in from another room._

_"What is it!? What happened out there?!" Matthias said frantically._

_"Monster Hunter soldiers have breached the inner sanctum! I don't think the others can hold them for long." He said, breathing heavily._

_"Damn it. I didn't know they would be here so quick. Guards the subjects!" The guards turned to Michael and Taria. They advanced towards the two, they were about to grab them. But Michael had a few tricks up his sleeve. The scientists that had turned him into… whatever it is, had its own perks, one of which he trained himself to use an ability he had, without letting anyone else know: Pyrokinesis. _

_Michael looked up at a lit torch on the wall, and focused. Using his power over all fire, he forced the fire from the torch and threw in the guard's faces._

_"AHH!" They screamed. Seeing the opportunity Michael and Taria quickly stood up and ran out of the jail cell. _

_"You idiots! After them!" Matthias yelled as the kids ran out of sight. The guards were still screaming as their faces were being burned. Matthias sighed angrily. "Do I have to do everything myself?" He said as he took a sword from one of the downed guards and began to give chase._

_"Where are we going?!" Taria asked, running alongside Michael._

_"I don't know!" He yelled back. Suddenly, as Michael and Taria rounded a corner, they bumped into a soldier that was on patrol._

_"Hey! You two aren't supposed to be here!" He yelled, as he grabbed Taria by the collar._

_"HEY! Let me go!" She shouted. Michael's eye twitched._

_"I've had enough of this stupid place!" Michael thought angrily. Michael jumped up and tackled the soldier, making him drop Taria to the ground. Michael quickly bent down and sunk his sharp teeth into the soldier's neck._

_"AHHH! Get off of me you bastard!" He ordered. Michael just ignored him and continued to rip into the flesh of the soldier's neck._

_"AHHH!" He continued to scream as blood began to spray out in random directions. Taria was horrified to see Michael actually trying to kill this man. A few moments later, the soldier's limbs went limp and he stopped screaming. He was dead. Michael slowly stood up from the dead soldier._

_"…M-Michael…?" Taria asked. Michael quickly turned around, revealing the murderous look in his eyes and the blood covering his mouth. Which completely frightened Taria to her core, Michael slowly walked over to her, and offered her his hand._

_"Take my hand." Michael said._

_"Y-you just k-killed that man." Taria stuttered out._

_"I had no choice. Now take my hand." Michael repeated. Taria took his hand and stood up and resumed to run away from Matthias, who was hot on their trail. Since neither Michael or Taria never knew the architecture of the base they didn't really know where to go. After the two ran around another corner, they found a dead end._

_"This is a dead end." Michael said, turning around. But, just as he did. Dr Matthias appeared, blocking their path._

_"You two are coming with me! You children are too valuable to be let free." Matthias said, stepping closer to the two of them. _

_"Don't come any closer!" Taria yelled._

_"Shut up, child." He replied angrily. Suddenly, the sounds of rushing foot-steps could be heard. Matthias turned around to see Monster Hunter soldiers rushing in at him._

_"Dr. Matthias! Stop right there!" One of them yelled. The soldiers captured Matthias and pinned him to the floor._

_"Dr. Matthias. You have broken laws no-one else has ever dared to break. For your heinous crimes, you shall not be given a fair trial, you shall be executed." He finished as he nodded to his follow soldier. The soldier grabbed his sword and stabbed the doctor in the heart, killing him instantly._

_"Thank God that's over." A soldier said with a sigh of relief._

_"Captain, look." A soldier said, pointing at Michael and Taria._

_"Damn it. We're too late." The Captain said with a sigh of pity._

_"What should we do captain, they're just kids." The lieutenant said. _

_"…We have to get rid of them. We have to get rid of all evidence that this base ever existed. Even if we… have to take the lives of these children. I wish we didn't have to." The Captain finished. He and his team began to walk over to the children._

_"W-what should we do, they're going to k-kill us." Taria whispered, scared for her life._

_"I-I don't know… I think this is where it ends…" Michael replied halfheartedly. He looked around for a way out. It didn't seem like there was a way out, until he looked up. There was a maintenance hatch on the ceiling that was open… It led outside, he saw the blue cloudy skies. His hope returned._

_"Taria, hold on…" Michael whispered._

_"What do you me-" She tried to complete her sentence, but it was cut off by Michael flapping his wings. He was trying to fly…_

_"Michael, you've never tried this before." Taria said, worried._

_"Well, there's a first time for everything." Michael replied enthusiastically._

_"Hey! Stop right there!" The Captain ordered as he began to run over to them. But it was too late. Michael and Taria soared up into the air, flying out of the maintenance hatch and into the air. Taria screamed, seeing how high they were of the ground. _

_"Hold on!" Michael instructed._

"Man, you guys escaped with style… I wish I could fly…" Chaos remarked.

"Thanks for interrupting me, Chaos" Michael deadpanned.

"Whatever, continue." Chaos said.

_The two had been flying for what seemed like hours, and Michael was exhausted. Luckily, Taria spotted civilization down below._

_"Maybe we should get back to ground level, Michael." Taria said._

_"…I-I agree…" Michael replied as he began to descend from the sky. Soon, they landed within the town's forest. As soon as they touched the ground Michael collapsed from exhaustion, and panted rapidly._

_"Michael! Are you ok?" Taria asked worriedly._

_"…Y-yeah… I'm just f-fine." Michael said as he stood up again._

_"Are you sure?" Taria asked again._

_"…Yeah…" He said as he started walking toward the town. Taria began to follow. A few minutes into walking, the two saw a man within his thirties, picking apples out of the trees. Michael quickly hid behind a thick oak tree, but just as Taria was going to hide with him, she stepped on a twig. The man turned around and saw the little girl. She quickly hid behind the oak tree with Michael._

_"Hey! Why are you hiding?" He asked, dropping his basket."There's no need to be scared." Neither Taria or Michael replied and just stayed quiet._

_"Come out. There's no need to be scared or hide. I'm friendly." He finished. Taria was scared, but out of curiosity she led out from the tree. _

_"Hello there, my name is Louis Myers."_

_"H-hello…" She said timidly._

_"What's your name?" Louis asked._

_"…T-Taria Castana." She answered._

_"Taria Castana huh? That's a pretty name." Louis stated. "Why don't you come out, there's no need to be afraid of me. We're all good people in this town." Louis finished as Taria began to walk into Louis' sight, he was surprised of what he saw._

_"Whoa, I did not expect this. You're a special one, aren't you?" Louis said with a smile, Taria giggled at him._

_"Uh... I'm not sure if this is the right question to ask, but… Where are your parents...?" Louis asked. Taria began to tear up._

_"T-They're gone…" She said as she began to cry._

_"They're go-… Oh my god… I'm so sorry." Louis said as he hugged her, trying to comfort her. Even though it happened three years ago, she would cry at even the mention of her parents._

"Must've been hard to go on without them." Ace stated.

"Yes. Yes it was." Taria replied halfheartedly.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Eve said.

"There is no need to say that, Eve. It happened a long time ago." Taria said.

"Please continue, Michael..." Ace said.

_"Mister Louis?" Taria said, wiping more tears from her face._

_"Yes?"_

_"I have a friend with me. Would you like to meet him?" She asked happily._

_"Sure." Louis confirmed._

_"Ok Michael, you can come out now." Taria signaled as Michael stepped out from behind the tree, revealing his appearance to Louis._

_"…Well, that's unexpected… Hello young man… Umm… What's your name?" Louis asked._

_"…Michael Logan Black."_

"Louis took us both in at that point, raising us as his own. It was nice." Michael said.

"But, when I first saw Taria, you weren't with her. And you did recognize her when you started fighting us, why?" Chris questioned.

"Taria looked human enough to be tolerated. But I didn't… When they first saw me, they formed a mob and chased me out of town and wouldn't let me back in. I couldn't tell you how many times I've tried to get back in. So I made a home for myself in the mountains, and I became a melon farmer.

"It really hurt when you left…" Taria said.

"I'm very sorry, Taria. I desperately tried to get back in and see you again." Michael replied. "Anyway, that's our story. Now it's your turn to tell me something."

"What could that be?" Achilles asked tentatively.

"What were you guys doing hiking this mountain with all the shit that's going down!?" Michael said slamming his hand on the table.

"Well, we were given this piece of old paper." Ace started, pulling the paper out of his pocket and handing it over to Michael. "There's coordinates on it, it'll lead us to the desert. But we're not exactly sure what's out there."

"I've been there before." Michael said.

"You have?" Terashi asked.

"Yeah. There's a large desert temple there. But what does that have to do with this invasion?"

"We think that there is something there that will help us defeat Herobrine." Terashi stated.

"Herobrine? Who's Herobrine?" Michael said, curiously.

"He is the thing that started all of this." Chris replied.

"Well why don't we just find him and kill him." Michael asked.

"He is a god. We can't kill him with any conventional weapons." Ace said.

"Could you help us?" Chris asked the winged man.

"What?" Michael said.

"Could you help is with this? We could really benefit from your help." Chris finished.

"…I don't know…"

"Please?" Taria interjected. Michael sighed.

"Fine… I'll go." Taria smiled as he leaned over and hugged him. Causing Michael to blush a second time. She let go of Michael and stood up.

"Ok. Uh… Michael?" Taria began.

"Yeah?"

"Where's our weapons?"

"What she said, I want my sword back." Chaos said.

"…Oh, I put your belongings in the corner over there." He said pointing to the pile of backpacks.

"Thanks." Chris said as he stood up and walked to the corner of the room and grabbed his backpack.

"Hey Chris, can I talk to you." Chaos said from behind him,

_"Why would he need to talk to me?"_ Chris pondered.

"Yeah, sure."

"In private..." Chaos said.

"…OK…" Chris said, walking away from the group.

"Ok, what is it that you needed to say?" Chris asked.

"I think your relationship with Taria is in trouble." Chaos deadpanned.

"What…? Why would you think that?" Chris asked curiously.

"I'm just going to say it bluntly. An old friend just showed up, and they've known each other for way longer then you've known Taria. Seeing each other again may stir up some buried feelings, who knows what they could've done or said to each other with in that three year time line."

"…Are you insinuating that she is going to cheat on me?" Chris asked, getting peeved.

"I don't know what's going to happen, just keep an eye on them."

"Why are you telling me this? Why would you care?" Chris asked, becoming more agitated.

"Because… it's happened to me before… Her name was Ilene" Chaos replied halfheartedly.

"Really…?"

"Yeah, sadly." Chaos confirmed.

"I trust her…Taria would never to such a thing to me..." Chris stated, defending her.

"Well don't come crying to me when you hear Taria screaming another man's name in the bedroom when they think you're not there…" Chaos finished as he walked back to the corner, grabbing his backpack and sword. Chris didn't really feel too good. He probably shouldn't have had that conversation with Chaos. The thought of Taria betraying him like that left a sick feeling in his stomach.

_"…Taria would never do that to me… Would she…?" _Chris thought.

(/\/\/\/\/\)

**Hope you guys liked this chapter and the upcoming drama, if you know what I mean. :) I had to work till 2 in the morning to finish this. xP**

**Remember to review, follow and fav for REWARD COOKIES!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: The Journey Continues…**

**Here's the new chapter. Hope you like it. Made it extra-long for you guys. :D**

(/\/\/\/\/\)

"Ok bitches! Are we ready to do this shit?!" Chaos yelled as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. The group stood on the back porch of Michael's house, ready to leave. Chris just sighed at and walked past Chaos, with Taria and Michael following close behind.

"Aye!" Ale replied.

"That first part wasn't really needed, Chaos. But, essentially yeah." Ace spoke.

"Ok people, let's get started. I don't want to waste any time on this." Terashi finished as he began following the three that already started the journey down the mountain. As the group began walking, Chris started thinking to himself. Taria looked at Chris and noticed this.

"Something wrong, Chris?" The green woman questioned curiously, breaking Chris' train of thought.

"Oh, nothing's wrong, Taria. I'm just thinking…" Chris replied as he started rubbing the back of his head.

"About what...?" She asked.

"I'm thinking about...Uh... Why the ghasts haven't come back yet, after Michael beat them off." Chris replied.

"Hmm… I'm not sure… They usually come back after a couple hours... But it's been to long for that." Michael said.

"I hope they don't come back, if they know what's good for them." Taria finished angrily.

"...Yeah..." Chris sighed. He had gone against one of the only things he said he would never do, he lied to Taria. Even though the ghasts may pose a problem later, that wasn't really what he was thinking about...

_"...Well don't come crying to me when you find out that Taria is screaming another man's name that's coming from the bedroom when they think you're not around to hear it..." _Chris remembered halfheartedly.

That conversation he had with Chaos not too long ago still resonates within his mind. He knows that Taria would never betray his trust and do something like that to him, or at least that's what he liked to tell himself. He knew that she would be faithful, but something in the back of his mind said otherwise, and that's what bothered Chris the most. He wanted to have his upmost trust in Taria, he didn't want any part of him to think anything else. But, Chaos was right about one thing, they've known each other for three years. They could've done anything in that amount of time. Chris sighed halfhearted and try to forget about the whole thing. But, as much as he tried to forget about that topic of thought, it always came back to bother him a second later. Chris sighed and looked up to the sky, wanting to forget he ever talked to Chaos.

"Are you ok, Chris? You're not acting like your usual self, is something wrong?" Taria asked again.

"Yeah. I noticed that too. And I think I know why." Chaos said with a sly smirk.

"Shut up Chaos. And no, Taria. I can assure you, nothing is wrong." Chris replied.

"Unless you count all the shit that's going down right now..." Chaos blurted.

"Yeah... Hey Michael?" Terashi started.

"Yes sir?" The winged man replied.

"Could you do a favor for me?" The Tactitcan asked.

"...Uh... Yeah. What's the favor?"

"I need you to do some reconnaissance for me." Terashi finished.

"...W-what...? Why?" Michael said, not wanting to leave Taria's side. This slightly annoyed Chris.

"I need to you fly ahead and worn us if anything is ahead of us, can you do that for us? For the group?" Terashi asked as Michael took another glance at Taria, then he sighed.

"...Fine... I'll do it." Michael announced. "But, only to keep Taria safe." He turned his head to look at Taria again. She walked over to Michael and hugged him.

"Come back alive, ok?" She said, hugging him tighter. Michael returned the hug and sighed. After a few seconds Michael let Taria go.

"I'll be right back Taria. Ok everyone stand back!" He yelled as he flapped his wings and began to fly upward. He looked down at Taria once more before he flew off into the distance. Taria sighed as she was still looking in the direction where Michael had flown off to. Chris put a hand on her shoulder, taking her out of the trance that she seemed to be in.

"Huh…?" She started turn to Chris. "Oh. What is it, Chris?" Taria asked with a small wholehearted smile.

"We should get a move on, Michael will come and yell at us if there is anything afoot." Chris finished as he continued to walk the path down the mountain. Chaos quickly walked next to Chris.

"You got some tough competition." Chaos whispered while nudging Chris with his elbow.

"What the hell are you talking about, Chaos?" Chris countered.

"You and I both know what I'm talking about you ignorant fool." Chaos replied viciously, making Chris' eye twitch in anger.

"Don't call me ignorant." Chris said and sighed.

"Then what do you call the display we saw earlier." Chaos replied.

"I don't see a problem with anything that happened within the last few minutes."

"Dude... She hugged him vigorously for like... seven seconds. And she kept staring into the sky after Michael left as if she was still trying to look for him... That's always how it always starts." Chaos started as Chris sighed again. "I see many red flags there, my friend."

"I don't see a problem. I know she would never do something like that to me, she's not that kind of woman." Chris stated.

"I was naive like that back then too." Chaos countered.

"I ask again. Why do you even care, Chaos?" Chris said as he swatted a fly away from his face.

"Because you're a good guy, and I see a little bit of myself in you. I just don't what to see that happen to you. Because, like I've said before, it has already happened to me." Chaos explained.

"I still kind of find it hard to believe that." Chris said.

"I'll tell you my story when we have the time to dilly-dally like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. I just want to make sure it doesn't happen to you. It's hard to let go of someone you love."

"I'd never thought you would care for my well-being. I'm flattered, really I am." Chris said as Chaos growled then sighed while rubbing his temples to relieve his anger.

"I'm just trying to help you here man. But, if you want to have your relationship with Taria to go down in flames, that's fine by me." Chaos deadpanned. Chris sighed and spoke.

"Look. I'm sorry. But, taking action at this point is not necessary. But, if that kind of problem does arise I'll-..."

"You'll assert your dominance?" Chaos said with a smirk, cutting Chris off.

"...I wouldn't put it like that but, yeah." Chris finished.

"Good." Chaos replied proudly.

"...Hey... what are you guys taking about...?" Taria asked as she walked to Chris' side.

"Nothing." Both Chris and Chaos quickly replied.

"...Are you sure?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow

"It's guy stuff, you wouldn't understand." Chaos said slyly, leaning on Chris' shoulder. Then Chris suddenly glared at Chaos.

"...What?" Chaos blurted.

"Chaos, I think that's enough. You don't need to bother Chris anymore." Terashi said from behind the three. Chaos sighed and walked back over to Terashi. Chaos readjusted his eyepatch and sighed.

"You know Terashi, you really need to lighten up. I'm only trying to help the poor kid."

"I know that, Chaos. But you don't need to butt into other people's business. What happens to them is only between them." Terashi deadpanned.

"I know it's not any of my business. But, I just can't help but warm him... I just hope he knows what he's doing." He finished as he sighed.

"So... what were you and Chaos talking about. I'm asking out of curiosity here." Taria questioned.

"Nothing that you need to worry yourself about." Chris replied.

"Oh... Ok, I'll take your word for it." Taria said. Chris really wanted to confront Taria about her and Michael, but other parts of him either said it was unneeded or unnecessary. But, he would have to do something about it soon, it won't stop bugging him if he didn't and also might start future problems for them.

"Hey uh... Taria, can I talk to you?" Chris asked.

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?" She asked, wearing her usual smile. Chris suddenly stopped moving, the other members of the group looked at him as they passed him.

"Why did you stop Chris?" Taria asked as she turned back and walked up to him.

"I need to talk to you in private..." Chris said.

"We can't talk about it while walking with the others?" She asked.

"It's important." Chris finished as he cleared his throat.

"...Is it about us?" She suddenly asked. Chris was surprised with how fast she caught on. He sighed and continued.

"Yeah..." Some of the color drained from Taria's face.

"Oh... Ok." She said halfheartedly.

"...You would never betray me... Would you?" Chris asked that question faster then he would've like to, he wanted to have leaned into that question after a little bit, bit he just blurted it out. Taria went wide eyed at his question.

"...W-what? B-betray you...?" She stuttered and stepped closer to Chris. "Chris... I would never betray you... I love you too much to do anything like that to you." She continued, putting her right hand on his chest, where is heart is. "You're the only man in the whole world for me. You've given me all the love any person can give anyone... and then some. You saw me as a person, and not a monster or freak or all those other names and labels I was given at the village. You loved me for who I am on the inside, I thought that finding a man like you was an impossible task. But, all I needed to do was just look right around the corner, I would never take someone like you for granted. Chris... I love you, and nothing will ever change that. You're mine... and I am yours... forever." She finished as she threw her arms around Chris neck, surprising him.

"W-what are you d-doing...?" Chris stuttered out, his face turning red. Taria stayed silent and leaned in and passionately began to kiss Chris. Within seconds, Chris gave in and wrapped his arms around her waist and deepened the kiss. The kiss was long and sweet, Chris never wanted it to end.

_"I never should've thought that she would ever try to betray me..."_ He thought as he was lost in the passionate kiss. Chris shoved his tongue inside Taria's mouth, making her moan in his mouth. Within a few seconds, Taria began to lean her weight into the kiss. Making Chris lose his balance and they fell to the ground with a thud.

"...Ow..." Chris groaned in discomfort as Taria giggled, she ignored his slight groans of pain and continued to kiss him. Suddenly, she began to take off her golden chest plate. At that moment, he thought about stopping her like he did eariler. But, for some reason he decided against it. With the others gone and no monsters around they can do anything out here... anything... after a few seconds, Taria removed her chest plate and threw it away. Then she brought her hands up to her head and removed her helmet, letting her beautiful black hair flow down. Chris gulped before Taria bent down to begin kissing him again. During the kiss, Chris moved his right hand upwards and cupped her left breast, causing Taria to moan loudly into Chris' mouth. Only seconds into the kissing, Chris removed his hand and lips from Taria. After the two paused for oxygen, Taria began to speak.

"Wha... W-why d-did you pull back...?" Taria asked in-between pants. Chris just smiled at her. Even though it was nice to have her on top of him like this, a part of his brain wanted to postpone this for a little while and get back to the group before they get too far ahead.

"...It is pretty nice for us to be doing this, but I think it would be a better idea if we did this another time. I don't want the others to get too far." Chris said.

"I don't care..." Taria deadpanned.

"...What?" Chris asked.

"Personally, I don't give a damn if they get too far or not. But, you asked me that question eariler, and it questioned my loyalty to you. If you feel like you need to ask such a question..." Taria began as she bent down, their faces just mere centimeters away from each other. "...I'm going to remind you how much I love you." Taria finished seductively, making Chris quiver from under her.

"But, I-" Chris tried to say as Taria began to pull up his shirt. Moments later, she threw the shirt to the side. "W-wait..." Chris started. But, at that moment, Taria put a hand on his chest, where his heart is.

"I can feel your heart beat, it's so fast... It feels so warm..." Taria started lovingly. "Chris, your mind might say no. But your heart and especially your crotch says yes... I can feel it growing from under me... in-between my legs... You can't hide it, no matter how much you might try." As much as Chris didn't want to admit defeat, everything she said was true. Most of him wanted to make love to her right here and now. But, the others parts of him didn't and kept his sexual urges in check.

"I... uh... I d-don't know what to say." Chris replied nervously, causing Taria to have a delightful giggle.

"You don't need to say anything..." She said flirtatiously, moving her hand down to grab Chris' length from outside his pants, causing him to moan loudly. Then Taria giggled at him.

"W-wait, w-we don't have to d-" Chris began as Taria bent down to kiss him, effectively silencing him. It was a nice, slow and passionate kiss; it also seemed to be the most heated kiss of the day.

_"...Fuck it..."_ Chris thought, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her closer, leaving no space in-between them. He give into Taria and into the kiss. Chris vigorously shoved his tongue inside Taria's mouth, making her moan. He moved his hands downward and cupped her rear, causing her to make a surprised yelp. Chris chuckled as Taria's blush deepened.

"No need to be shy, Taria." Chris said with a smirk, making Taria stutter slightly. Chris chuckled again at her bashfulness.

"D-don't laugh at me..." She stated playfully. Suddenly, Chris began to undo the clamps keeping her golden armor covering her legs. Seconds later he undid the last clamp and threw the armor piece with the others. Now the only thing keeping the two apart were the articles of clothing the two were wearing. Taria giggled and moved her hands down to remove her shirt, a couple moments later she pulled the shirt off of her body and threw it next to her armor. Chris moved his hands up and reached her bra straps and began to undo them.

"You want to get it off that badly, hmm?" She said flirtatiously.

"Very much so." Chris replied as he finished taking off her bra, he threw it away, cupped and began to massage her left breast with his hand and took her right breast into his mouth, sucking and playfully nibbling on the nipple. Taria gasped and moaned in pleasure. Chris looked up and examined her pleasure stricken expression, Chris smiled and continued his work on her breasts.

"Ahh...! mmm... Ahh... C-Chris, it f-feels so good... k-keep going..." She moaned out, her fingers twitching at every wave of pleasure striking her. Every few minutes Chris would alternate which breast he would suck on. Taria arched her back, reveling in pleasure. Chris then playfully licked around the circumference of her nipple, and took it back into his mouth again, making Taria moan loudly. He loved it when she moaned, he couldn't get enough. The two were there for what felt like hours. Taria enjoyed herself... Until she couldn't take it anymore. She pulled Chris' head and hands anyway from her breasts, but are still connected by a single strand of saliva.

"...Did I do something wrong?" Chris asked, giving her a questionable look. Taria took a deep breath to calm herself down, then spoke.

"No no... Chris, I just couldn't take it anymore, it felt amazing. Y-you're too good with your mouth." She finished, making Chris have an accomplished smile appear in his face.

"Thank you, Taria. I'm flattered." Chris replied. Taria giggled as she pushed him onto his back again. Taria looked down and move her hands to his pants and began to pull them down, letting his erect manhood stand out.

"There we go." She said, grasping Chris' hardness.

"Ahh...!" He moaned to her touch. She giggled at him as she bent down, and licked his length from its base to the tip, making Chris moan again.

"...You like that?" Taria said seductively.

"O-Of course I do..." Chris replied as Taria gave his length a couple playful strokes. Chris gritted his teeth as Taria began sucking on the tip of his member. Taria giggled and continued to suck on him, the pleasure inside him ever rising.

"...It's f-feels so good..." He stuttered out. Suddenly, she ceased sucking on him and stood up.

"...Uh... Why did you s-stop..." He asked with shallow breathing. Taria giggled as she started to slowly slip out of her pants. Chris went wide-eyed as Taria threw away her pants and panties. Chris felt a lump in his throat as Taria walked back over to him, and got back on top of him.

"Y-You ready...?" She asked bashfully. Chris gulped and spoke.

"Yeah... Yes I am." He replied. Taria smiled lovingly and gripped Chris' hardness and positioned it below her wet opening, with the tip of his member touching her womanhood. Chris moved his hands forward and cupped Taria's rear. Then he began to push his length inside Taria, inch by inch. She squinted her eyes and moaned as Chris slid more of it inside her.

"AH!" She yelled, as Chris suddenly slammed himself inside Taria. This caught Chris' attention, he looked at her, hoping he didn't hurt her too bad.

"A-are you ok? D-did I hurt you?" He moaned out, with worry apparent in his voice.

"N-no... you're f-fine... It's just I'm still a little sore from the last time we made love... J-just go slow, a-and be gentle ok?" She said as she quivered in discomfort.

"Ok, I'll be gentle." He finished with a small and gentle smile that seemed to make Taria quiver on the inside.

"...Good." She said flirtatiously as she winked at her lover. "Let's get started, shall we, Chris?"

(/\/\/\/\/\)

"How much longer do we have to do this, I'm bored." Chaos grumbled.

"It won't be too much longer, I hope." Ace replied halfheartedly. "If it keeps up like this, we'll probably die of exhaustion far before we even get close to the temple that Michael told us about."

"Speaking of Michael, where is that guy anyway? He had been gone for quite some time." Deric asked as he increased the speed of his steps and walked up to Terashi.

"I am not sure. If he comes back, the most likely thing that will happen is that there is nothing ahead of us to worry about." Terashi replied solemnly.

"...A-and what if he doesn't c-come back..." Eve asked sheepishly.

"Then missy, it means he got fucked in the ass by the monsters and we should be ready for what's ahead." Chaos deadpanned. Deric frowned.

"Don't talk to my Eve that way." Deric threatened. Chaos gave Deric a look before he spoke

"You got a problem with me, boy? If you got something to say, then just say it to my face, punk." Chaos finished as Ale stepped in-between them, trying to keep the two from going at each other's throats.

"Hey hey hey. Quit it with the ruckus. There's no point in fighting with each other, save it for the monsters."

"Pfft, whatever fat man." Chaos replied as Terashi sighed.

"Hey!" Ale shouted. "I'm not that fat!"

"Everyone, quiet down! My headache is growing every second as your incessant babbling continues. I order you three to shut the hell up!" Terashi ordered, making them shut their mouths quickly. "Thank you." The group continued to walk in silence, and a pretty awkward silence at that.

"Hey Chris?" Terashi started without getting a reply.

"Chris?" Terashi repeated as he turned around to observe the group. Everyone stopped when his gaze fell on the group.

"What's wrong, sir?" Isabella questioned the Tactician.

"Where is Chris…? And where is Taria?" Terashi asked as he observed the faces and reactions of the group, it didn't seem that they knew where they had gone either.

"How did they slip out of the group without me noticing?" Terashi asked himself more then he asked the group. He could see everything and everyone, how they slipped past his vision was a question that he couldn't answer.

"I don't know, but where did they go?" Achilles said.

"I'm pretty sure he's fucking her brains out right now…" Chaos murmured to himself.

"What did you say, Chaos?" Terashi asked.

"Oh me? Nothing. Nothing at all." Chaos replied with a smirk.

"Hmm… We should go back to find them…" Terashi stated, causing Chaos to grumble.

"I sense more boring shit in our future, we should just keep going." Chaos replied.

"That is not an option. We're not leaving anyone behi-..." Terashi started but was interrupted as he heard something being him. Terashi and company looked up to see that the winged-man had returned. Michael floated down to the group, and landed in front of the Ultima Guard's leader.

"What do you have to inform?" Terashi asked.

"Well, there isn't many monsters in-between us and the temple. But, there is some sort of uh… How do I put this…? There is some sort of Dome village down there, and a huge wall surrounding the perimeter of that village."

"Hmm… The villagers must've built a dome and wall to keep the monsters out." Terashi started. "Can we go around the village?"

"That would take way too long. We might have to go through it if time persists." Michael replied as he began looking at the group, probably searching for Taria, after a few seconds he spoke. "Hey, where's Taria?"

"_Aw shit…"_ Chaos thought.

"I'm not sure. Somehow they got separated from the rest of the group." Ace replied.

"They?" Michael said with a raised eyebrow.

"Chris got separated along with her." Chaos said.

"How long have they been gone?" Michael asked, with a worried look on his face.

"Hmm… Anywhere between one to two hours maybe." Chaos replied, over exaggerating how long they've actually been gone.

"I don't think so. The last time I saw them it was about…" Ace began, looking at his clock. "…5:25 PM… It's 6:05 right now. So they've been missing for a total of forty minutes."

"How could've you people let her out of your sight?!" Michael yelled, flaring his wings.

"Dude, calm down. She's fine…" Chaos said. "Probably better then fine…"

"…And how would you know that?" Michael hissed, seething with anger. Chaos smirked.

"I know that because they're right behind us." Chaos said pointing a thumb behind him. Revealing that Chris and Taria are walking to them, but they're still far away.

"Hello guys! Sorry we took so long!" Taria yelled from a distance, with Chris alongside her. Michael sighed in relief.

(/\/\/\/\) **Earlier**

"That was amazing." Taria said, basking in the afterglow of their passionate love making. Currently, she was lying on top of Chris, her head resting on his chest. Chris' hardness was still deep inside her, his seed dripping out of her opening, but he didn't care too much to take it out. He was wanted to lay there with her; he wanted to spend every peaceful second he could with her. Even though dark times are upon them, he would always feel happy when they spent their time together.

"Yes, yes it was." Chris said proudly, making Taria giggle delightedly. Taria sighed as she looked into Chris eyes. Chris and Taria smiled at each other, he moved his hand up and cupped her cheek, next he bent down and began to kiss her passionately, Taria had no trouble returning the heated kiss. Within a few seconds, the couple's lips separated and Taria laid her head down on Chris' chest once more. She could hear Chris' heartbeat, she always loved to hear it. Its rapid beat signified that whenever she was close, it would start beating faster. She smiled knowing that his heart would only beat for her.

"_He feels so warm… I love him so much… it feels like my heart is going to burst at any moment…"_ She thought nudging closer to him.

"I love you." She said to her lover. Chris smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I love you too, Taria." He said, making Taria giggle again.

"…Hey Chris?" She began.

"What is it, my love?" Chris replied with a small grin.

"Just out of curiosity, why did you ask that question? I never wanted to betray your trust, and I never showed any signs of it, have I?" Chris didn't expect her to ask this question. Chris sighed and spoke.

"It's probably just Chaos making me paranoid but… It's just when we reunited Michael with you, I didn't think anything of it at the time, but Chaos kept talking to me about you and Michael. He was just trying to make me paranoid or something. But, overtime some parts of me started to believe it. Michael has known you for three years, way longer than I've known you, you guys might've said or done anything during that time…" Chris finished with a sigh. But then, Taria began to giggle slightly.

"_Why is she laughing?"_ Chris pondered.

"W-wait. You thought that me… and Michael?" Taria said, giggling more. Chris' face turned red out of embarrassment, he cleared his throat, signaling her to stop laughing. Taria sighed, becoming more serious about the situation

"Chris… you don't need to worry, I would never go behind your back like that." She started lovingly, lifting her hand up and caressing his cheek. "I like Michael, but I don't like him in that way. He was like a brother to me, and that's how I intend to keep it. But, I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me that way either, but I'm not too sure. Even in our time together when we were kids, he had never said anything about liking me like that. Your worry for our relationship is unneeded, Chris. Because I love you too much to let you go, you're the only man who has room in my heart." Taria reassured, kissing his cheek. Chris smiled happily and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in closer.

"Thank you for telling me that, Taria." Chris said.

"Anything to make you feel better… I'd never lie to you, Chris. You should know that by now." Taria replied with a loving smile.

"I'm sorry for questioning you. Chaos was just making me feel uneasy and paranoid.." Chris said while rubbing the back of his head.

"It's fine, Chris. I just wanted you to know I would never hurt like that… I love you." Taria said and kissed Chris' cheek again. Chris began to feel at peace again, he doesn't have to worry anymore. Now he can just enjoy his time with the woman of his dreams. Chris sighed as his mind began to wonder off.

"Hey, Chris?" Taria started.

"Yeah?" Chris replied as he yawned.

"I-I think it's time to get back to the others…" Taria finished, even though she wanted to stay here with him, and continue to lay there on top of him, she didn't want the others to send a search party after them unnecessarily.

"B-but… can't we stay here for a little while longer…" Chris asked, holding into Taria tighter, not wanting to let her go.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want the others to worry about us. We've been away for quite some time. And I don't want to give them the wrong idea and come searching for us."

"B-but…-" Chris tried to say, but Taria began kissing him again. Chris slowly closed his eyes and began to kiss her back. At that moment, Chris decided to tease her by thrusting his member inside her more, causing her to moan. Taria quickly stopped kissing him, gasping for air.

"C-Chris, don't t-tease me…" She moaned out as Chris chuckled as he continued to thrust inside her.

"C-Chris, we n-need to stop…" Taria said, trying her best to keep herself from giving in again.

"Why?" Chris replied with a smirk plastered on his face.

"B-Because, I-if you don't stop, I-I-I won't be able to control myself, and it will b-be longer before we can get back to the others. T-They'll probably think w-we got held up, and c-captured or something..." She quivered. As much as Chris wanted to keep on going, Taria did have a point. Chris sighed and ceased his thrusts.

"T-Thank you." She moaned out. Then she gasped and quivered as Chris took his member out of Taria.

"You didn't have to take yourself out so fast, you scared me." She said as she kissed him. Chris just laughed. "W-why are you laughing?" She asked, as her flustered face became a little darker.

"I'm not laughing at you. It's just I didn't know you can get scared so easily." Chris replied as he began laughing again. Moments later Taria began laughing with him. After a few moments the laughter died down. But, Chris still wanted to stay here with her; it was nice to spend this kind of time with her. Much to Chris' dismay, Taria began to get off of Chris and stand up. Taria looked down at Chris then offered him her hand.

"Shall we go, Chris?" She asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Chris replied, taking her hand into his.

(/\/\/\/\) **Present**

"Hello guys! Sorry we took so long!" Taria yelled as she waved to the rest of the group ahead of them. As she observed the group, her wondering eyes laid onto Michael.

"Hey, look. Michael's back." Taria asked.

"…Great..." Chris started sarcastically "Come on, Taria… We shouldn't keep them waiting." Chris finished as Taria smiled lovingly at him. The two began walking down the mountain to the others. As they were walking, the group began walking towards them. Shortening the time it took for them to reunite.

"Hey Chris. Hey Taria." Ale said, hugging both Chris and Taria at the same time.

"…Thanks Ale… C-can you let go now, you're kind of crushing me and Taria…" Chris struggled to say.

"Oh, sorry guys." Ale replied, letting the two out of his hold.

"What happened to you two?" Isabella asked. "Why have you been keeping us waiting?"

"…Uh… I… um…" Taria started nervously.

"We got side tracked. . . by some monsters." Chris said quickly, making Michael's left eyebrow rise. Suddenly Chaos pushed through the group and stepped in front of Chris with a smirk on his face.

"You got side tracked?" Chaos whispered, chuckling slightly. "You're seriously saying you two got 'side tracked'?" He scoffed.

"Yeah, that's what I'm telling you. Now get out of my face, Chaos." Chris said as he pushed past Chaos and continued to walk down the mountain, with Taria following close behind him. As far as Chris was concerned, he didn't even want to talk to Chaos at the moment.

"…What was that?" Michael asked.

"Why are you asking me that?" Chaos questioned. "How am I supposed to know what he's thinking?" Chaos finished as he began to walk with the rest of the group.

"_Hmm…"_ Michael thought as he also began walking with the others.

"Hey Chris?" Chaos started as he walked up to him.

"I don't want to talk to you right now, Chaos. So shut the hell up, and leave me alone." Chris grumbled.

"So you say you two got side tracked right?" Chaos said. Chris continued to ignore Chaos and kept on walking.

"Well anyway, with what I pieced together in my awesome little mind of mine. You asked Taria to talk, probably about her and Michael. Words were exchanged; she told you that she wouldn't never do it, blah blah blah. Other things may have happened. And I'm pretty sure you two had make up sex. But that's just a theory of mine." Chaos continued with another one of his famous smirks. "Would you mind to correct me, Chris? Have I missed something." Chaos finished as Taria blushed deeply. Chaos must've reminded her of the time that they shared earlier.

"Oh wait. Never mind, Chris. Taria beat you too it, her face told me all that I needed to know. That's what I thought happened between you two." Chaos stated proudly.

Chris tried his best not to drive his fist into Chaos' smug face. Chris stayed completely silent and continued to walk.

"Giving me the cold shoulder eh?"

"Will you shut the fuck up and leave me the hell alone!?" Chris hissed. "I've had enough of your bullshit today."

"I've been getting to you? I was just trying to help you." Chaos replied.

"Hey. What's going on over there?" Achilles asked.

"Nothing." Both Chris and Chaos replied

"…Well that _help _is unneeded, now leave me alone." Chris inquired.

"Say please." Chaos said with a face splitting grin. Chris' eye twitched.

"Leave me alone… Or else…" Chris said in a low and threatening voice. Chris was pissed off to no end and near his breaking point.

"Say ple-." Chaos attempted to repeat as Chris quickly turned around and swiftly forced his fist into Chaos' face, quickly sending him to the ground.

"Whoa, what the hell?!" Deric shouted. Everyone stopped and looked at Chris questionably. Chris sighed and turned back to continue walking.

"W-why did you do that for, Chris?" Achilles asked.

"What the hell was that?" Michael asked as he walked up to Taria.

"I don't know." She lied. Terashi moved over to Chaos, who was still struggling to stand

"What did you do this time, Chaos?" Terashi deadpanned as he helped his comrade stand up. Chaos chuckled.

"I just pushed him a little bit too far, I guess."

"Don't you remember what I said earlier, you idiot? I told you to not bother him anymore." Terashi reminded.

"Yeah, I know." Chaos said as he whipped off some blood that was coming out of his nose.

"Hey uh Taria. Can I talk to you?" Michael said, rubbing the back of his head. Interrupting Taria's attempt to follow Chris. As much as Taria liked to talk to her old friend, she didn't want an unforeseen problem rear its ugly head.

"Uh… sure." Taria replied.

"From what I've seen, you seem to be spending most of the time with Chris and you seem to know him well. And if you do, tell me, what made him punch Chaos? I don't like him as much as the next guy, but still…" He asked again.

"I-I'm not really sure, Michael." Taria lied, she really didn't want to lie to her best friend, it hurt her to do that. But, it was needed.

"Hmm…" Michael murmured.

"Now, if you will excuse me." Taria said as she turned around and jogged over to Chris' side.

"W-wait I still wanted to talk to you…" Michael blurted, she just ignored him.

"_Why does she keep going to him? And why is she acting so… not like herself? Why is she being so elusive?"_ Michael pondered, as he looked at Taria tentatively. But, as he was looking at her, he blushed and looked away. Chaos noticed this and walked up to his side.

"You love her, don't you?" Chaos said.

"Want makes you think that?" Michael replied. Chaos sighed at his cluelessness.

"You're showing all the signs. You're head over heels for her." Chaos finished as Michael blushed again. "Your face tells me all I need to know."

"S-shut up…" Michael said.

"Just admit it, get it off your chest." Chaos said with a smirk. Michael sighed halfheartedly.

"…Yes… Yes I do love her. But I don't know what to say to her, I don't know how to tell her I love her, whenever I'm near her the shy kid I used to be always finds a way to get back at me." Michael said as he began to walk with the group.

"You don't need to worry, Michael." Chaos said.

"I-I don't?"

"You probably don't have a chance with her anyway. At least with how things are going between them, you don't have a chance." Chaos finished, walking ahead of Michael and up to Terashi.

"W-wait, I don't have a chance?" Michael quivered. "And how things are going between whom?" Chaos ignored and chuckled.

"_Wait a minute… Whenever I see Chris, Taria isn't usually far behind, she's usually close to him. She always seems to walk beside him, and stay near him. Then they got separated from the group, and Chris said, 'they got side tracked'… Hmm… And now Chaos said 'At least with how things are going between them, you don't have a chance.'"_ He began to piece things to together. _"…Chris and Taria…? Are they that close… impossible! No human would ever take her like that... It's impossible."_ Michael thought as he continued to look at Taria as she was walking.

"_I'll show Chaos, I'll show everyone that she will be mine…" _

(/\/\/\/\)

"So this is the place eh?" Chaos asked as his gaze was set on the giant wall and dome of the village, they had been walking for quite some time, they had finally climbed down the mountain, and that was when the village came into sight, it wasn't too far away from the mountain, probably about 2 miles, the group began to make their way to it. The wall looked to be made out of tungsten and iron, extremely hard to break through. So trying to bust in if the villagers won't let them in isn't an option. The dome that concealed the village looked to be made out of cobblestone, probably used to keep the ghasts out. There was a steel bulkhead on the front of the wall, which was most likely the entrance.

"What is this place?" Chris asked.

"Oh right. You and Taria weren't here when Michael informed us of this. This village is called: Granandor. Somehow they saw the invasion coming, and built this wall and dome you see before you to protect the village and the people inside. But, over time, without having contact with the outside world. The town became more and more corrupt. So, if we're able to enter, we should immediately leave. Before something happens." Ace explained, as the group walked up to the bulkhead door.

"How do we get in?" Taria asked.

"I don't know." Michael replied.

"…W-we could j-just knock on it, made there is someone behind it." Eve said, walking up to the door. Eve lifted up her hand and lightly knocked in the door, and then the group waited to about ten seconds. That was when Chaos' attention span disappeared.

"You didn't hit it hard enough, woman. I'll show how a real man does it." Chaos said with a smirk as he walked to the door. He lifted his hand and was ready, that was until they heard a voice from above.

"Hey!" A masculine voice shouted. The group looked up to see a number of iron clad soldiers pointing their bows down at them, ready to fire at any moment's notice. Chaos backed away from the door and walked back to the group.

"We heard your knock!" The soldier from before yelled.

"That's my girl." Deric said as Eve blushed furiously.

"What's your business here?!" He shouted. Terashi moved ahead of the group and shouted.

"We don't have business here, your village is blocking our way through, and we don't have time to go around!" The tactician shouted.

"And you want entrance so you can get to the other side?! There is nothing out there, just a far off desert! Are you sure you want to go there?!" the soldier asked.

"Yes, we're sure!" Terashi confirmed. The soldiers above all looked at each other, probably deciding about whether or not to let them in.

"We'll be back in one minute!" The soldier said as he left the wall, but kept the other soldiers there to keep an eye on the group of people below.

"What do you think is going to happen, sir?" Isabella asked.

"He's probably going to talk to his boss or superior." Chaos replied. "And I feel something afoot, something isn't right."

"I agree." Terashi said.

"We'll just have to wait and see." Jet said.

(/\/\/\/\)

"General Nikolai." The soldier began as he walked into his superior's office. The general stopped his paperwork and looked up at the soldier.

"What is it, Colonel? I'm very busy." Nikolai said with his very heavy Russian accent. The soldier cleared his throat and spoke.

"We have a situation at the bulkhead, sir." The general paused, taking the new information in.

"What is it, comrade? More monsters?"

"No." The soldier replied. "It's a group of people, they probably came from the other side of the mountain." The general removed his reading glasses and spoke.

"Who are they? I must know. I don't want to have any more unnecessary fights on my hands." Nikolai finished as he stood up and walked in front of the soldier.

"T-They said that they need to get to the desert behind the village. And that they don't have time to go around, they want entrance into the village, because they would rather go through it then around it. After they leave the boundaries they shouldn't bother us again." He finished as he saluted to his superior. "But, there is one thing I want to tell you."

"Want is it, comrade?" Nikolai asked.

"I counted at least eleven of them, they are all armored and weaponized, except for one who didn't seem to be wearing any.

"Hmm…" The general rubbed his chin. "I'll be out there in a moment. Tell them to wait."

"Yes sir."

(/\/\/\/\/\) **7 minutes later**

"When are they going to be done? I'm bored." Chaos grumbled and sat on the ground along with everyone else.

"You're always bored, Chaos. You have a small attention span." Chris replied with a small chuckle, making Taria giggle slightly.

"Hey! Shut up!" Chaos yelled.

"Calm yourself down, Chaos." Terashi ushered.

"What? I don't have the right to say I'm bored as hell? Screw you." Chaos replied as Terashi sighed.

"Don't annoy me, Chaos." Terashi said.

"Whatever…" Chaos said as the bulkhead doors began to open. "What the… Why is it opening?" Chaos asked as he quickly stood up with everyone else following suit.

"Everyone be ready, they may try to kill us." Terashi said. Soon, the bulkhead doors finally opened, revealing a slightly heavy-set man, accompanied by many iron clad soldiers, two on his right and two on his left.

"Greetings, my name is Nikolai Bor-"

"N-Nikolai… I-is that you?" Taria said, interrupting the man, moving toward the front of the group. Taking everyone in the area by surprise.

"_How does she know this guy?"_ Chris thought.

"Comrade Taria?! I know that voice anywhere!" He yelled as Taria and Nikolai ran to each other and hugged. Chris was surprised to no end. How do these two know each other?

"My my, Comrade Taria. You've grown." General Nikolai said proudly, causing Taria to giggle delightedly.

"Thanks, how have you been doing? And why have you stopped visiting us." Taria continued with a frown, which made Nikolai frown. Taria left go of Nikolai to let Nikolai explain.

"I'm terribly sorry, Comrade Taria. I tried to visit as much as I could, but things always got in my way. Again, I'm very sorry."

"Ahh… It's ok. At least you're alive. I thought you might've died after all this happened." She continued with a smile. Nikolai then uttered a hardy laugh.

"I thought quite the same thing, Comrade Taria." He said as he began laughing more.

"Uh… What the hell is going on?" Michael asked as he walked to Taria's side.

"Ah… I think I remember you telling me about this guy, Comrade Taria. Your name is Michael right?" Nikolai asked as he examined the winged-man.

"Yes…" Michael confirmed.

"Ahh! Greetings Comrade Michael!" he said as he hugged him tightly, holding him a couple inches in the air.

"…W-what the heck is going on?!" Michael shouted as Nikolai released him from his grasp.

"I agree with Michael, what is going on?" Terashi questioned. Nikolai released Michael and brushed himself off.

"Oh. I'm sorry, my name is Nikolai Borchevski." This man was a very tall one, he stood at an amazing 6'7, he had slightly greying brown hair, brown eyes and seems to be somewhere around his late fourties or early fifties.

"Thanks for the introduction." Terashi said as he shook Nikolai's hand. "But, how do you know Taria and Michael?"

"Oh. Well come inside comrades, I'll tell everything when we're inside." He said as turned back and walked through the opened bulkhead door. With Taria following close behind. Chris was baffled.

"Russian, eh? You don't see many of those guys anymore." Chaos murmured.

"Why not?" Chris asked curiously.

"For some reason, most of them were killed off some time ago." Chaos explained. "I'm not sure why…" Chaos finished as he walked through the bulkhead.

"Hmm…" Chris grumbled as he walked through the door with the group. When he passed through the door, he began walking on a bridge over a molten lava moat. Must've took a lot of work to dig out the perimeter of the village and out and pour lava into it, and even more time and resources to build the roughly twenty-foot wall around the whole village.

"Don't fall into the lava, Comrades." The general announced as the weary group walked past the bridge and to another set of metal bulkheads. This is where Chris laid his eyes on the entirety of the dome. It was huge! Taller than any building he had ever seen.

"Whoa. Wonder how long it took to build this." Chris said.

"With the wall and the dome, we worked very hard and non-stop for about five months, give or take a few days. Thankfully, we finished it a couple days before the invasion started." Nikolai answered as he walked up to the door which was guarded by two soldiers.

"Open the door, Comrades." The general ordered.

"What's with all the other people behind you, General Nikolai? Are they authorized to enter?" The soldier to the right asked.

"Well of course they are, you idiots. If they weren't, I wouldn't be letting them in." The general said, slightly irritated.

"Y-Yes sir." He said as he pressed a button on the wall, causing the second pair of bulkhead doors to slowly open.

"Come on Comrades." Nikolai said happily, walking straight through the doors.

(/\/\/\/\/\) **15 minutes later**

"Now that we've gotten introductions out of the way." Nikolai started has he sat down in a chair. "I'll tell you how Taria and I met."

"Wait, can I tell the story?" Taria said cheerily.

"Go ahead, Comrade Taria." Nikolai said.

"Ok. This is how it all started." She began.

_It has been two whole years since Louis graciously took Taria into his home, two years since she lost her dear friend. Taria was happy in that time of her life, or at least that's the impression she tried to give. But the constant teasing from the other kids at school really did get to her today. She couldn't take it anymore, she hastily ran back home with tears in her eyes. She locked herself in her bedroom and hasn't come out for quite some time. Louis was always out to work when she needed him the most, and she would usually wait for him to come back home to cheer her up, knowing that he would usual succeed every time he tried._

"_Hey, Taria. You in there? Are you Ok?" Louis said from behind Taria's bedroom door. Hearing his voice, Taria quickly got out of her bed and wiped away the tears that saturated her face._

"_O-one second." Taria said, trying not to sound like she had been crying for the last couple hours. After a couple moments, she walked over to her bedroom door, and slowly opened it._

"_Hey, Taria. You weren't downstairs when I came home, is something wrong." Louis asked, kneeling down to her level._

"_N-no… Welcome home, daddy." Taria said as she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. She tried her best not to seem distressed, but she never completely learned how to mask her emotions very well. She just wanted to forget want happened to her and not to burden Louis with her problems. She just wanted to spend the day with her adoptive father, and do nothing else. Louis quickly returned the hug and sighed._

"_Those kids are still picking on you, aren't they?" Louis asked, releasing her from the hug._

"_N-no… Everything's f-fine, daddy." She replied, trying to hold her tears in as best as she can._

"_Taria… hiding your emotions won't solve anything. Now, are those other kids still picking on you?" At that moment, Taria bursted into tears and began crying hysterically_

"_I'll take that as a yes." Louis began, sighing and holding on to Taria in an attempt to give her some comfort._

"_It's ok, Taria. I'm here."_

"_N-no it's not… I-It's never ok. W-why won't t-they stop…?" She said as she started to cry more. Louis sighed halfheartedly._

"_I tried everything I could, I talked to the parents, I even talked to the kids. But, they're not listening to me. I'm sorry. I'll try to think of something else."_

"_O-ok…" Taria said, after some effort, she calmed down and began to wipe some more tears from her green face. Louis then suddenly took Taria in for a warm hug. Something like a hug would usually make her feel better, most times it works, but other times it wouldn't. Louis held her for who knows how long. But, when Louis let go of her, he was relieved to see a faint smile on her face._

"_All better?" Louis asked as he wiped away some of the tears from her face with his thumb._

"_Y-yeah… Thanks daddy." Taria said, sniffling. "You always know how to m-make me feel better." Louis smiled._

"_Hey Taria?" Louis asked._

"_Yes, daddy?" Taria replied, smiling._

"_I got you a little something, its downstairs right now. You want to find out what it is?" Louis said, standing up. Taria's face lit up._

"_You got me something?" She gasped._

"_Yes." Louis said proudly. "Come on, Taria. I'll show you what it is." Taria graciously grabbed Louis' hand and walked out of her bedroom and down the steps to the first floor where the living room was. Louis walked in front of Taria and kneeled down._

"_Taria, can you close your eyes for a moment?" Louis said. Taria quickly obliged and covered her eyes with her hands. Louis left and picked something up, within a few moments, Louis was back kneeling in front of Taria._

"_Ok, Taria. Open your eyes." He said, holding an object to her. She gasped as she opened her eyes, she saw that Louis had got her a stuffed animal as a present. She quickly snatched the stuffed bear from Louis and hugged it._

"_You like it?" Louis asked._

"_I don't like it. I love it! Thanks daddy, I love teddy bears!" She squealed cheerfully. "N-not that I don't love it, but, why did you get t-this for me?" She asked, wiping tears of joy from her face._

"_When I was coming home from work, I passed this neat little store, right next to the school. I looked over to the shop, and saw this little teddy bear on one of the shelves, seeing that stuffed animal made me think of you, so I was like: Why not? And that's when I bought it for you." Louis explained happily. It was nice to see Taria's genuine happy and smiling face once in a while, knowing that she usual put on a fake one most of the time to hide her sadness._

"_Thanks again for the teddy bear, daddy. I love it." Taria said happily, hugging the stuffed animal's neck tighter._

"_You're welcome, sweetheart." Louis replied wholeheartedly, making Taria giggle. "There's also a part two to this."_

"_Part two?" Taria asked._

"_Yeah. If you wanted to, I was going to take you out to the park, by the old oak tree and we could get some ice cream." Taria smiled at him. _

"_I'd like that."_

"_Well it's settled then, I'll go get everything ready, then we'll g-…" Louis tried to say as he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Louis gave a questioning look at the door._

"_Who could that be? It better not be those kids again." Louis thought and turned back to Taria. "Ok, Taria. Go ahead and get dressed, it's a little cold outside."_

"_OK, daddy." Taria said cheerfully as she ran back upstairs to her bedroom. Louis sighed as he walked toward the door, hoping that it wasn't the obnoxious kids again. Louis gripped the doorknob and slowly opened it. Revealing a slightly heavy set man behind the door._

"_Comrade Louis!" He yelled as he took Louis into a friendly hug. Louis was extremely surprised to see his old war friend._

"_N-Nikolai?!" Louis asked, astonished._

"_Yes, Comrade Louis. I am back." Nikolai said, patting Louis on the shoulder._

"_N-Nikolai, where have you been? I haven't seen you since the battle of Rackfort. How have you been doing?" Louis asked, excited to talk to his friend._

"_I am very sorry, Comrade Louis. I was just very busy, I just got promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and it can be a very tiring position, my friend. And I am doing well, thank you." Nikolai explained as he walked into the house. "But, why don't you come back, my friend. The army could really use a veteran like you, there's too much… uh, how you say, new blood. They're not experienced enough. Hah, I still remember when you and I were just privates; those were some fun times, my friend." Nikolai finished with a hardy laugh._

"_Nikolai, you and I both know that I'm retired. I quit doing that stuff years ago. And besides, I have someone to take care of." Louis replied, taking his coat from the couch and started to put it on._

"_Well there's is no harm in trying, yes?" Nikolai said with a chuckle. "Wait… Comrade Louis, I didn't know had someone, you married?" He asked with a sly smirk._

"_No." Louis deadpanned._

"_I'm ready!" Taria yelled excitedly from her bedroom._

"_Hmm… A child? You have a child!? Is she yours?" Nikolai asked._

"_No." Louis replied._

"_Who's the mother?" Nikolai questioned._

"_I have no clue." Louis answered. "And when you see her, don't freak out ok?"_

"_Why would I freak out, Comrade Louis?" Nikolai said as he sat down on the couch. Within a few moments, Taria walked down enough stairs to be seen by the two men. Nikolai's eyes widened. He looked at Louis and spoke._

"_Uh… this is… new." Nikolai said, trying not to irritate the girl or his friend. When Taria saw Nikolai, she swiftly ran back up the stairs. After a few seconds, she poked her head out and spoke ._

"_Dad, who is this guy?" Taria asked worriedly._

"_There's no need to hide, Taria. This man is one of my old friends." Louis said, trying to coax her into the room. Minutes passed until Taria finally decided to walk down the rest of the steps. Without making eye contact with Nikolai, she walked over to Louis._

"_There's no need to be shy, little one. I'm a good guy. My name is Nikolai Borchevski."_

"_H-hello…" Taria said sheepishly. _

"_What is your name, little comrade?" He asked as he walked to her and kneeled down._

"…_T-Taria Castana…" She answered._

"_It's a pleasure to be of your acquaintance, Comrade Taria." Nikolai said with a smile. Louis was surprised of how well the introduction is going, even when someone wanted to say hello, Taria wouldn't say anything back and hide behind Louis'._

"_I-it's nice to m-meet you too." Taria said. "…A-and not to be r-rude, but…W-why to you talk like that." She asked._

"_You mean his accent?" Louis started. "He's Russian, sweetie. He's a foreigner." _

"_Does my accent interest you, Comrade Taria." Nikolai asked._

"…_A little b-bit…" Taria replied._

"_Well, maybe if I decide to visit again. If you want to, I could try to teach you my language, you like?" He asked._

"_Y-Yeah, t-that would be fun." Taria said._

_"Супер!"_ _He cheered._

"_W-what did you say?" Taria asked._

"_Oh, I said 'great' in my native language, little comrade." Nikolai answered. "And that's just a taste of what shall come in the future, my friend." Nikolai finished cheerily._

"…_Taria, could you wait outside for a minute?" Louis asked._

"_Yes, daddy." Taria said, smiling. She hugged Louis happily and walked to the door and exited the house, leaving the two men alone. There was an awkward silence between the two, until Nikolai decided break it._

"_She seems like a good kid, Comrade Louis."_

"_Thanks for not freaking out, Nikolai." Louis said as he sighed._

"_There was no need to freak out…" Nikolai began. "All due respect to the little comrade and to my friend, but… what made her like that? And where is her real parents?_

"_Five years ago, her parents were murdered in cold blood. She was kidnapped and experimented on by some guy. Somehow she escaped and ended up in my backyard. She still hasn't told me everything that's happened to her during that time in her life. Even in the two years she's been spending here has been a very hard time for her, between her being made fun of everyday and the constant dehumanizing. I've been trying my best with her, but… It just gets hard sometimes."_

"_It seems that little comrade has had a hard life, I'm amazed that she can even keep a smile on her face."_

"_Yeah. We're just about to get ice cream and go to the old oak tree in the park. Want to come, old friend? It seems that she's lightening up to you." Louis asked._

"_Of course, Comrade Louis." Nikolai said, hugging him. "Also, I love kids. I'll cheer her up one way or another…"_

"It was fun having Nikolai over, every week or every other week after school he'd come over teach me how to speak Russian. Sometimes, we could have conversations and no-one else would know what we were saying. And we could even curse at other people and they wouldn't know." She said as she and Nikolai shared some laughter together. "But, we didn't really want to go that far, but we thought about it, a lot." She finished with another giggle.

"By sixteen years of age, she could almost speak Russian fluently. I was so proud." Nikolai stated as Taria sighed.

"Hey, Taria." Michael said.

"Yes, Michael?" Taria replied, turning to him.

"Can you speak Russian now? I want to see… I mean hear for myself." Michael asked, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in.

"Oh, no. I haven't practiced Russian in years. I'm pretty rusty, I wouldn't want to embarrass myself if I screw up bad enough."

"Come on, Taria. We won't be able to understand you, and I'm pretty sure Nikolai would understand if you screw up." Jet assured. "Just say something random." Taria giggled slightly.

"Ok ok. I'll try." She started, taking a deep breath in and out. "... Мне нравится, когда Крис стоны мое имя ..."__She spoke as she blushed deep and giggled slightly, knowing that no-one else could understand what she just said, but then mentally slapped herself as she remembered that Nikolai could. Nikolai then looked at her questionably, his eyes wide.

"Почему вы так говорите?" Nikolai questioned.

"Гм ... Ну, Jet действительно говорил что-то сказать случайно." She replied halfheartedly.

"Да, я знаю, но зачем это?"

"Потому что, я чувствовал, что это. А другая причина в том, что Крис мой парень, я хотела вам сказать, что, я думал о нем в тот момент, и именно поэтому я сказал, что."__Taria answered, making the general look at Chris for a moment.

"Он твой парень?"__He asked.

"Да, да, он есть. И он идеально подходит для меня. Он любит меня такой, какая я на самом деле внутри, он принял меня. Он дал мне все той любви, которую кто-либо мог дать любому, и даже больше. И я люблю его со всем моим существом."__Taria said with a large grin.

"Поздравляем!" He cheered, hugging her tightly.

"What's going on? What are they saying?" Chaos asked as he leaned in his chair closer to Chris.

"How am I supposed to know that?" Chris replied. "I don't speak Russian, Chaos."

"Как вы двое были?"__Nikolai started happily, releasing her from the hug.

"Мы делали отличные, спасибо." Taria said.

"... Я не знаю, что это не мое дело. Но от того, что вы сказали, я предполагаю, что вы двое уже есть ... э-э ... Вы знаете, что я имею в виду. "

"... Дважды. Я не настолько застенчивы больше."__Taria replied, blushing.

"Это хорошо. Приятно видеть, что кто-то любит тебя так же, как ты его любишь."__Nikolai said with a smile.

"Спасибо."__Taria said cheerfully.

"What are you guys talking about?" Michael asked, interrupting the Russian and the green woman.

"Oh, nothing." She said with a giggle. Suddenly, the door behind them opened, revealing a soldier.

"Sir, we have more bandits on the loose!" The soldier shouted.

"Are you serious, I thought he had them all?" The general said as he stood up and walked to the door.

"Three of them escaped, sir." The soldier answered. Nikolai sighed.

"I'm sorry everyone, but I have business to attend to."

"Hey, wait!" Taria shouted.

"What is it, Comrade Taria."

"What about our request to go through the village and leave? We have somewhere to be." Taria said as she stood up from the couch she was sitting in and walked up to him.

"I'm not the guy you should ask. I can let people in, but not out. At the exit, there are some inspectors; they make sure no-one leaves the village with something that they stole, when you get there, they'll inspect you and let you leave. But, it's pretty far of a walk until you get to the desert, my friends. So why don't you guys take a load of in the army barracks, it probably took you guys the whole day to get here, it's almost sunset. You'll need some rest if you want to continue. We have extra spaces in the barracks for your group. You people can leave tomorrow morning." Nikolai started as he turned his back on them. "But, I should give a warning; this town has become corrupt, it has been like this ever since the dome was built. Do not talk to anyone not in your group." He warned. "If you people are leaving, just get out fast. Ok comrades?"

"Y-yes." Taria replied.

"Good. Now I must be taking my leave." Nikolai said as he left the room with his soldier following.

"…Well, I don't have a problem with Nikolai's offer." Chaos started with a yawn, then leaning back in his seat. "I wouldn't mind sleeping."

"You always want to sleep, Chaos." Terashi deadpanned. "You're lazy."

"You and I both know that irrelevant, brother." Chaos countered.

"Well, who wants to go to the barracks?" Chris asked. "Whoever wants to, raise your hand." Hands began to rise. And the only ones hands that stayed down were: Terashi's, Isabella's and Chris'.

"HA! We win! It's seven to three!" Chaos said.

"It's eight to three, dumbass." Isabella said.

"Shut up, woman." Chaos replied as he stood up and walked out the door. "Now… Where's those barracks at?" Chaos asked himself as he observed the halls, rubbing his chin. Standing next to a flight of stairs not too far away was a pair of soldiers, knowing that he didn't know where the heck he's going, Chaos walked up to the soldiers and spoke.

"Hey, do you guys know where the barracks are from here?" Chaos asked. They didn't reply or even acknowledge him. "Hey! I asked you two assholes a question!" He yelled. Suddenly, he felt a finger being tapped on his shoulder. He quickly turned around, seeing Taria and the others right behind him.

"What!?" He shouted.

"Let me try." Taria said softly.

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead, good luck trying to faze those two." Chaos grumbled as he stepped back into the group.

"Эй, солдат? Не будете ли вы любезны дать нам направления на казармы вашей армии? Я очень ценю это."__She asked with her arms behind her back. Both soldiers turned their heads to look at her.

"Конечно ...Лестницы Меня и моего друга стоите между поведу тебя там. Перейти вниз три этажа, а затем идти прямо, а затем введите третью дверь из лестниц." One soldier said. Taria was glad to know that Nikolai isn't the only Russian here.

"Спасибо." Taria said, turning back to the group.

"Thank the maker you can speak Russian." Ace said, making Taria giggle.

"Come on, guys. Follow me." Taria said as she started to walk down the flight of stairs. Chris and Michael followed close behind, as well as everyone else.

(/\/\/\/\)

"I wish Chaos would stop snoring." Terashi began, trying to ignore the loud snoring coming from the other room. "I mean we just got here three minutes ago and he's already asleep." Terashi and Chaos and Isabella were put into a room together, but Terashi had to ask to sleep with Jet and Ale he couldn't get any rest because of Chaos.

"Yeah, he can be pretty annoying. I wonder why Isabella hasn't decided to come out yet." Jet said.

"Either she can tolerate him, or she likes him." Ale said as Jet scoffed at him.

"I don't think any woman would like him like that." Jet said, chuckling.

"You would be wrong." Terashi said, interrupting Jet's laughing.

"What? How did someone like him bag a woman?" Jet asked, astonished.

"Well, he did have a relationship with this woman; I don't think it ended well though. After the two broke up, Chaos seemed to be more negative than usual." Terashi confirmed.

"What happened?" Ale asked.

"It's not my story to tell, you'll have to ask him yourself in the morning." Terashi finished as he climbed into bed. "But, it's a touchy subject for him to talk about. So I suggest you don't ask him at all."

"Hmm…" Both Jet and Ale grumbled.

"Well, I guess its time to hit the hay since Terashi already started." Ale said. "Goodnight…"

(/\/\/\/\)

After the discussion with the group's sleeping arrangements, Chris decided to head over to the village wall to observe the area. Chris used to enjoy the view, but now, after the land got razed, it was a sight for sore eyes. Chris sighed, thinking about some way to help the world through this invasion. But, without the manpower, the situation looked pretty bleak. The only thing he can do is go to these coordinates. Michael said that there was a temple there, but it's what could be inside of the temple that scared him. What could be there that's so important? Usually, bandits would travel far distances to raid those old temples for their jewels hidden below. But, Chris knew that there was something else there. This whole journey just didn't seem right to him.

"_What are at these coordinates that are so important?"_ Chris thought. Ever since Chris got the note back from Ace, he had kept examining it for extra insight in the matter. But, it didn't really help, it only made Chris' mind feel more cloudy than it already is. Chris sighed as he put the note in his pocket, giving up the search for clues. He leaned on the side of the wall and began to stare at nothing for the next few minutes, until he heard loud footsteps walked closer to him. Chris quickly turned his head to see Nikolai walk up to him.

"Is something wrong, Comrade Chris?" He asked.

"Nothing's wrong, Nikolai." Chris started as he sighed again. "…Just thinking."

"Well, why are you 'thinking' out here all alone? You could be with your friends right now. And in times like these, Comrade… You should want to spend as much time as you can with them." Nikolai stated.

"Yeah…"

"And besides, I pretty sure Comrade Taria you like for you to be by her side right now." Nikolai said, winking.

"You know about me and Taria?" Chris asked. "When did you figure that out?"

"Not important. But, what is important is that she has you. She's told me lots of great things about you. And it makes me proud that you make her happy. She hasn't had much good things happen to her in her life, at least until she meet you, Comrade Chris." Nikolai started.

"Yeah, she's had a… difficult life… to say the least."

"Yes. But now she has you now... Comrade Chris, and also, can you do a favor for me?" Nikolai asked, leaning closer to Chris.

"Yeah, sure."

"Please, keep Comrade Taria safe and happy. I have obligations at this village, and I won't be able to go with you people when you leave. Even though I really want to… Can you do this for me, Comrade?"

"I have been doing that, but yes." Chris replied. "Hopefully the love and warmth that I provide for her will heal her emotional wounds. Hopefully, she won't need to go to anyone else for that." Chris said.

"What do you mean, Comrade?" Nikolai questioned.

"Well, there's this guy named: Michael. I'm pretty sure you know about him, and his friendship with Taria."

"Да." Nikolai answered.

"Well, ever since Michael joined our group, Chaos has been saying things that get me paranoid."

"And you distrust Taria and Michael?" Nikolai asked.

"No. I have my full trust in Taria. It's Michael that I'm worried about, he hasn't shown any signs, well at least not to me that he loves Taria that way. I know that Taria wouldn't do something like that to me, but I guess I still have some doubt in the back of my head, even after everything that she has told me." Chris finished as he sighed.

"Comrade Chris…" Nikolai started as he put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "…You shouldn't need to worry. Taria isn't the kind of woman to backstab like that, I've known her for four years, and she is a very trust worthy woman. Every man, even if they have the highest trust into their significant other, still has something in the back of their mind, like you. You have it, because you don't want to lose her. I like to think of it as… something that keeps your mind open to any scenario, keeps you alert. Just don't let it control you or your actions, Comrade." Nikolai finished.

"Thanks, Nikolai."

"No problem, Comrade Chris. Now, why don't you come inside, yes?" Nikolai asked as Chris chuckled.

"Yeah." Chris replied.

(/\/\/\/\)

"_I wonder where Chris could be, ever since we got the room he's been out. I wonder what he's doing."_ Taria though to herself, continuing to read a book that she brought with her. She sat on the bed she decided to sleep in. The group had been separated into three's to save space. Michael, Taria and Chris took one room. Isabella, Terashi and Chaos took another, and so on and so on. She wondered if she should go ahead and try to find Chris, and decided to do it. She quickly closed the book she was reading and stood up from the bed, only to hear a knock on the door.

"Come in." She started, hoping it was Chris. But, then frowned in the inside finding out it was Michael who entered the room.

"Hello, Taria. How are you?" Michael asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks Michael." Taria replied halfheartedly, walking to towards the door, intending to leave.

"Hey, Taria!" Michael shouted, getting her attention.

"Yes, Michael?" She replied.

"C-can I talk to you?" He stuttered sheepishly.

"Uh… sure." She said, walking back to the bed, leaving the door open.

"Not to be rude, Michael. But, could you make it quick?" Taria asked with a small grin.

"Y-yes." He replied, his stuttering worsening. Every time she smiled at him, he would stutter. _"I have to tell her now! It's my only chance!" _He thought, sitting down the on the bed beside her, to close for Taria, but she dismissed that thought. Michael sighed.

"You know I'm your friend, right." Michael asked halfheartedly.

"_Why is he asking that?"_ Taria pondered. "Of course I know that, Michael. You're one of my best friends."

"_That's the problem."_ He thought as he sighed again. "I know I was too shy of a kid to tell you anything but, I think you grew up to be an extremely kind, beautiful and very amazing woman." He blurted, blushing. Taria's eyes widened.

"_What is he getting at?"_ She thought. "Thanks I'm flattered, really I am." She said, smiling. Michael began to inch his way closer to Taria.

"_W-wait a minute, what is he doing…?" _Taria pondered, a couple moments later Taria realized what his intentions were. _"Oh my… I guess I'm going to have to let him down smoothly…"_

"Michael, there's something I have to tell you." Taria said, but was interrupted as Michael held his hand up.

"No, Taria. I have to tell you this."

"_Oh no… This isn't good…" _Taria thought.

"But, M-Michael, it's really important." She began. "I don't think th-"

"Taria! I need to get this of my chest…" He started, the frustration of keeping it in for so long was fueling his actions. "Taria …I-I…" He sighed. "…I LOVE YOU!" He yelled, taking Taria by surprise. "I-I have for a while now, I was just too shy to tell you." He finished, moving closer to her. Taria's eyes went wide.

"_H-he loves me? He n-never said anything about this earlier… hopefully we can still be friends when I tell him that it won't work between us."_ She thought, sighing.

"…Michael… I'm sorry, bu-" She tried say, but was interrupted by Michael grabbing her shoulders and starting to kiss her. Taria's eyes widened.

"…_W-what does he think he's doing!?"_ She thought, attempting to get out of her hold. Michael leaned into the kiss and she fell into the bed, with Michael on top of her. Taria tried her best to push Michael off of her, but he was forcing himself into her too much. The second Michael decided to push his tongue inside Taria's mouth, Taria took this chance, and bit his tongue hard enough for blood to come out.

"AH!" He screamed as he covered his mouth, lifting himself off of Taria.

"…Why did you do-" Michael began.

_**SLAP!**_

Seconds later, after rubbing the red hand mark on his face, he looked back at Taria, who had tears in her eyes.

"W-why did you slap me? A-and bite my tongue? Y-you didn't like it?" He asked halfheartedly, Taria was breathing heavily, she didn't think he would be brave enough to do that, but she's been wrong about situations like these before.

"N-no… no I didn't… Because I already have someone who I love!" Taria yelled as Michael's eyes widened.

"…C-Chris…?" He asked.

"Oh my god. W-want is he going to think if he finds out. After e-everything I told him, and now t-this…?" She began, crying.

"He doesn't have to know…" Michael said. "Wait, I want him to know about us!" He yelled proudly, which agitated Taria even more.

"That's not the point!" Taria shouted. "…I'll know, and it'll eat from the inside out! A-and there is no us! At least not in that way!"

"B-but, Chris is a human. He can never really accept you the way I have!" He yelled, then suddenly, Taria slapped him again.

"Ow!" He yelped in pain.

"Don't you _dare…_ Don't you dare talk about my Chris that way!" She screamed.

"B-but…"

"I probably should've told you this earlier, but I d-didn't think anything of it at the time." She said, trembling. She was thinking about how heartbroken Chris would be if he knew about this. But, she knew that hopefully Chris would understand that she didn't want to kiss him, he took her by surprise. Taria sighed and continued. "But, C-Chris has done everything is his power to make me feel better after everything that's happened to me in my miserable life! And I was finally happy, extremely in fact. He's loved me for who I am, and has no problem with me!"

"B-but I…"

"And he isn't disgusted with me. And when we make love he-" She interrupted herself, quickly covering her mouth. She didn't want to go that far in her rant. She didn't want to tell him that they already made love…

"Y-You and C-Chris already…" Michael trailed off, crestfallen.

"Yes! And I am proud I have someone like him!" Taria admitted proudly.

Suddenly, the two heard a sound, next to the opened door that Taria forgot to close. They quickly looked to the door, curious as to see who or want made the noise. Taria's eyes got even wider as she saw that Isabella was standing in the door frame, her own eyes wide. Isabella quietly gulped and quickly left. She must've seen everything…

"W-wait!" Taria shouted, knowing that it won't be long before Chris knew. Taria began to cry more furiously into her hands.

"_Oh no, what am I going to do? I can't just tell Chris what happened, should I keep this from him? If I do, it'll seem like I did it on purpose. B-but I have too, he trusts me, I know he does. I can't keep something like this from him, should I…? I-I just hope everything turns out ok…" Taria thought, crying more._

(/\/\/\/\)

**Cliffhanger's a bitch, huh?**

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